Proverbs 14

¹The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
² He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
But he who is devious in his ways despises Him.
³ In the mouth of the foolish is a rod ^[a]for his back,
But the lips of the wise will protect them.
⁴ Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.
⁵ A trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a false witness ^[b]utters lies.
⁶ A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,
But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.
⁷ Leave the presence of a fool,
Or you will not ^[c]discern ^[d]words of knowledge.
⁸ The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But the foolishness of fools is deceit.
⁹ Fools mock at ^[e]sin,
But among the upright there is ^[f]good will.
¹⁰ The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.
¹¹ The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.
¹² There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.
¹³ Even in laughter the heart may be in pain,
And the end of joy may be grief.
¹⁴ The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied ^[g]with his.
¹⁵ The ^[h]naive believes everything,
But the sensible man considers his steps.
¹⁶ A wise man ^[i]is cautious and turns away from evil,
But a fool is arrogant and careless.
¹⁷ A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,
And a man of evil devices is hated.
¹⁸ The ^[j]naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.
¹⁹ The evil will bow down before the good,
And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
²⁰ The poor is hated even by his neighbor,
But those who love the rich are many.
²¹ He who despises his neighbor sins,
But happy is he who is gracious to the ^[k]poor.
²² Will they not go astray who devise evil?
But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.
²³ In all labor there is profit,
But ^[l]mere talk leads only to poverty.
²⁴ The crown of the wise is their riches,
But the folly of fools is foolishness.
²⁵ A truthful witness saves lives,
But he who ^[m]utters lies is ^[n]treacherous.
²⁶ In the ^[o]fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,
And ^[p]his children will have refuge.
²⁷ The ^[q]fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
That one may avoid the snares of death.
²⁸ In a multitude of people is a king’s glory,
But in the dearth of people is a prince’s ruin.
²⁹ He who is slow to anger has great understanding,
But he who is ^[r]quick-tempered exalts folly.
³⁰ A tranquil heart is life to the body,
But passion is rottenness to the bones.
³¹ He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker,
But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.
³² The wicked is thrust down by his ^[s]wrongdoing,
But the righteous has a refuge when he dies.
³³ Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding,
But in the ^[t]hearts of fools it is made known.
³⁴ Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.
³⁵ The king’s favor is toward a servant who acts wisely,
But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.