Proverbs 14
1 Wisdom is building her house, but the foolish woman is pulling it down with her hands.
Every wise woman has built her house, And the foolish breaks it down with her hands.
2 He who goes on his way in righteousness has before him the fear of the Lord; but he whose ways are twisted gives him no honour.
Whoever is walking in his uprightness is fearing YHWH, And the perverted is despising Him [in] his ways.
3 In the mouth of the foolish man is a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will keep them safe.
A rod of pride [is] in the mouth of a fool, And the lips of the wise preserve them.
4 Where there are no oxen, their food-place is clean; but much increase comes through the strength of the ox.
Without oxen a stall [is] clean, And great [is] the increase by the power of the ox.
5 A true witness does not say what is false, but a false witness is breathing out deceit.
A faithful witness does not lie, And a false witness breathes out lies.
6 The hater of authority, searching for wisdom, does not get it; but knowledge comes readily to the open-minded man.
A scorner has sought wisdom, and it is not, And knowledge [is] easy to the intelligent.
7 Go away from the foolish man, for you will not see the lips of knowledge.
Go from before a foolish man, Or you have not known the lips of knowledge.
8 The wisdom of the man of good sense makes his way clear; but the unwise behaviour of the foolish is deceit.
The wisdom of the prudent [is] to understand his way, And the folly of fools [is] deceit.
9 In the tents of those hating authority there is error, but in the house of the upright man there is grace.
Fools mock at a guilt-offering, And among the upright—a pleasing thing.
10 No one has knowledge of a man's grief but himself; and a strange person has no part in his joy.
The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not interfere with its joy.
11 The house of the sinner will be overturned, but the tent of the upright man will do well.
The house of the wicked is destroyed, And the tent of the upright flourishes.
12 There is a way which seems straight before a man, but its end is the ways of death.
There is a way—right before a man, And its latter end [are] ways of death.
13 Even while laughing the heart may be sad; and after joy comes sorrow.
Even in laughter is the heart pained, And the latter end of joy [is] affliction.
14 He whose heart is turned away will have the reward of his ways in full measure; but a good man will have the reward of his doings.
The backslider in heart is filled from his ways, And a good man—from his fruits.
15 The simple man has faith in every word, but the man of good sense gives thought to his footsteps.
The simple gives credence to everything, And the prudent attends to his step.
16 The wise man, fearing, keeps himself from evil; but the foolish man goes on in his pride, with no thought of danger.
The wise is fearing and turning from evil, And a fool is transgressing and is confident.
17 He who is quickly angry will do what is foolish, but the man of good sense will have quiet.
Whoever is short of temper does folly, And a man of wicked schemes is hated.
18 Foolish behaviour is the heritage of the simple, but men of good sense are crowned with knowledge.
The simple have inherited folly, And the prudent are crowned [with] knowledge.
19 The knees of the evil are bent before the good; and sinners go down in the dust at the doors of the upright.
The evil have bowed down before the good, And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20 The poor man is hated even by his neighbour, but the man of wealth has numbers of friends.
The poor is hated even of his neighbor, And those loving the rich [are] many.
21 He who has no respect for his neighbour is a sinner, but he who has pity for the poor is happy.
Whoever is despising his neighbor sins, Whoever is favoring the humble, O his blessedness.
22 Will not the designers of evil come into error? But mercy and good faith are for the designers of good.
Do they who are devising evil not err? And kindness and truth [are] to those devising good,
23 In all hard work there is profit, but talk only makes a man poor.
In all labor there is advantage, And a thing of the lips [is] only to want.
24 Their wisdom is a crown to the wise, but their foolish behaviour is round the head of the unwise.
The crown of the wise is their wealth, The folly of fools [is] folly.
25 A true witness is the saviour of lives; but he who says false things is a cause of deceit.
A true witness is delivering souls, And a deceitful one breathes out lies.
26 For him in whose heart is the fear of the Lord there is strong hope: and his children will have a safe place.
Strong confidence [is] in the fear of YHWH, And there is a refuge to His sons.
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, by which one may be turned from the nets of death.
The fear of YHWH [is] a fountain of life, To turn aside from snares of death.
28 A king's glory is in the number of his people: and for need of people a ruler may come to destruction.
The honor of a king [is] in the multitude of a people, And the ruin of a prince in lack of people.
29 He who is slow to be angry has great good sense; but he whose spirit is over-quick gives support to what is foolish.
Whoever is slow to anger [is] of great understanding, And whoever is short in temper is exalting folly.
30 A quiet mind is the life of the body, but envy is a disease in the bones.
A healed heart [is] life to the flesh, And rottenness to the bones [is] envy.
31 He who is hard on the poor puts shame on his Maker; but he who has mercy on those who are in need gives him honour.
An oppressor of the poor reproaches his Maker, And whoever is honoring Him Is favoring the needy.
32 The sinner is overturned in his evil-doing, but the upright man has hope in his righteousness.
The wicked is driven away in his wickedness, And the righteous [is] trustful in his death.
33 Wisdom has her resting-place in the mind of the wise, but she is not seen among the foolish.
Wisdom rests in the heart of the intelligent. And it is known in the midst of fools.
34 By righteousness a nation is lifted up, but sin is a cause of shame to the peoples.
Righteousness exalts a nation, And the righteousness of peoples [is] a sin-offering.
35 The king has pleasure in a servant who does wisely, but his wrath is against him who is a cause of shame.
The favor of a king [is] to a wise servant, And one causing shame is an object of his wrath!
