< Proverbs 11 >
1 Balances of deceit [are] an abomination to YHWH, And a perfect weight [is] His delight.
False balances are an abomination before the Lord: but a just weight is acceptable to him.
2 Pride has come, and shame comes, And wisdom [is] with the lowly.
Wherever pride enters, there will be also disgrace: but the mouth of the lowly meditates wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright leads them, And the perverseness of the treacherous destroys them.
When a just man dies he leaves regret: but the destruction of the ungodly is speedy, and causes joy.
4 Wealth does not profit in a day of wrath, And righteousness delivers from death.
[Possessions will not profit in a day of wrath, but righteousness will deliver from death. ]
5 The righteousness of the perfect makes his way right, And by his wickedness the wicked fall.
Righteousness traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them, And in mischief the treacherous are captured.
The righteousness of upright men delivers them: but transgressors are caught in their own destruction.
7 In the death of a wicked man, hope perishes, And the expectation of the iniquitous has been lost.
At the death of a just man his hope does not perish: but the boast of the ungodly perishes.
8 The righteous is drawn out from distress, And the wicked goes in instead of him.
A righteous man escapes from a snare, and the ungodly man is delivered up in his place.
9 A hypocrite corrupts his friend with the mouth, And the righteous are drawn out by knowledge.
In the mouth of ungodly men is a snare to citizens: but the understanding of righteous men is prosperous.
10 A city exults in the good of the righteous, And in the destruction of the wicked [is] singing.
In the prosperity of righteous men a city prospers: but by the mouth of ungodly men it is overthrown.
11 By the blessing of the upright is a city exalted, And by the mouth of the wicked thrown down.
[At the blessing of the upright a city shall be exalted. ]
12 Whoever is despising his neighbor lacks heart, And a man of understanding keeps silence.
A man void of understanding sneers at [his fellow] citizens: but a sensible man is quiet.
13 A busybody is revealing secret counsel, And the faithful of spirit is covering the matter.
A double-tongued man discloses the [secret] counsels of an assembly: but he that is faithful in spirit conceals matters.
14 Without counsels a people falls, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counselors.
They that have no guidance fall like leaves: but in much counsel there is safety.
15 An evil [one] suffers when he has been guarantor [for] a stranger, And whoever hates striking hands [in agreement] is confident.
A bad man does harm wherever he meets a just man: and he hates the sound of safety.
16 A gracious woman retains honor, And terrible [men] retain riches.
A gracious wife brings glory to her husband: but a woman hating righteousness is a theme of dishonour. The slothful come to lack: but the diligent support themselves with wealth.
17 A kind man is rewarding his own soul, And the fierce is troubling his own flesh.
A merciful man does good to his own soul: but the merciless destroys his own body.
18 The wicked is getting a lying wage, And whoever is sowing righteousness—a true reward.
An ungodly man performs unrighteous works: but the seed of the righteous is a reward of truth.
19 Correctly [is] righteousness for life, And whoever is pursuing evil—for his own death.
A righteous son is born for life: but the persecution of the ungodly [ends] in death.
20 The perverse of heart are an abomination to YHWH, And the perfect of the way [are] His delight.
Perverse ways are an abomination to the Lord: but all they that are blameless in their ways are acceptable to him.
21 Hand to hand, the wicked is not acquitted, And the seed of the righteous has escaped.
He that unjustly strikes hands shall not be unpunished: but he that sows righteousness he shall receive a faithful reward.
22 A ring of gold in the nose of a sow—A beautiful woman and stubborn of behavior.
As an ornament in a swine's snout, so is beauty to an ill-minded women.
23 The desire of the righteous [is] only good, The hope of the wicked [is] transgression.
All the desire of the righteous is good: but the hope of the ungodly shall perish.
24 There is [one] who is scattering, and yet is increased, And [one] who is keeping back from uprightness, only to want.
There are [some] who scatter their own, and make it more: and there are [some] also who gather, [yet] have less.
25 A liberal soul is made fat, And whoever is watering, he also is watered.
Every sincere soul is blessed: but a passionate man is not graceful.
26 Whoever is withholding grain, the people execrate him, And a blessing [is] for the head of him who is selling.
May he that hoards corn leave it to the nation: but blessing be on the head of him that gives [it].
27 Whoever is earnestly seeking good Seeks a pleasing thing, And whoever is seeking evil—it meets him.
He that devises good [counsels] seeks good favour: but [as for] him that seeks after evil, [evil] shall overtake him.
28 Whoever is confident in his wealth falls, And as a leaf, the righteous flourish.
He that trusts in wealth shall fall; but he that helps righteous men shall rise.
29 Whoever is troubling his own house inherits wind, And the fool [is] a servant to the wise of heart.
He that deals not graciously with his own house shall inherit the wind; and the fool shall be servant to the wise man.
30 The fruit of the righteous [is] a tree of life, And whoever is taking souls [is] wise.
Out of the fruit of righteousness grows a tree of life; but the souls of transgressors are cut off before their time.
31 Behold, the righteous is repaid in the earth, Surely also the wicked and the sinner!
If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?