New Living Translation

1 Better to be poor and honest<br>than to be dishonest and a fool.<br> 2 Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good;<br>haste makes mistakes.<br> 3 People ruin their lives by their own foolishness<br>and then are angry at the LORD.<br> 4 Wealth makes many “friends”;<br>poverty drives them all away.<br> 5 A false witness will not go unpunished,<br>nor will a liar escape.<br> 6 Many seek favors from a ruler;<br>everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts!<br> 7 The relatives of the poor despise them;<br>how much more will their friends avoid them!<br>Though the poor plead with them,<br>their friends are gone.<br> 8 To acquire wisdom is to love yourself;<br>people who cherish understanding will prosper.<br> 9 A false witness will not go unpunished,<br>and a liar will be destroyed.<br> 10 It isn’t right for a fool to live in luxury<br>or for a slave to rule over princes!<br> 11 Sensible people control their temper;<br>they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.<br> 12 The king’s anger is like a lion’s roar,<br>but his favor is like dew on the grass.<br> 13 A foolish child is a calamity to a father;<br>a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping.<br> 14 Fathers can give their sons an inheritance of houses and wealth,<br>but only the LORD can give an understanding wife.<br> 15 Lazy people sleep soundly,<br>but idleness leaves them hungry.<br> 16 Keep the commandments and keep your life;<br>despising them leads to death.<br> 17 If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD —<br>and he will repay you!<br> 18 Discipline your children while there is hope.<br>Otherwise you will ruin their lives.<br> 19 Hot-tempered people must pay the penalty.<br>If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again.<br> 20 Get all the advice and instruction you can,<br>so you will be wise the rest of your life.<br> 21 You can make many plans,<br>but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.<br> 22 Loyalty makes a person attractive.<br>It is better to be poor than dishonest.<br> 23 Fear of the LORD leads to life,<br>bringing security and protection from harm.<br> 24 Lazy people take food in their hand<br>but don’t even lift it to their mouth.<br> 25 If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded will learn a lesson;<br>if you correct the wise, they will be all the wiser.<br> 26 Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother<br>are an embarrassment and a public disgrace.<br> 27 If you stop listening to instruction, my child,<br>you will turn your back on knowledge.<br> 28 A corrupt witness makes a mockery of justice;<br>the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.<br> 29 Punishment is made for mockers,<br>and the backs of fools are made to be beaten.<br>