Proverbs 22

1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.

2 The rich and poor meet together; the LORD is the maker of them all.

3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass by and are punished.

4 With humility and the fear of the LORD come riches and honor and life.

5 Thorns and snares are in the path of the froward; he that doth keep his soul shall stay far from them.

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity, and the rod of his anger shall fail.

9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go away; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

11 He that loveth pureness of heart: for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.

12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and He overthroweth the words of the transgressor.

13 The slothful man saith, "There is a lion without! I shall be slain in the streets!"

14 The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit; he that is abhorred by the LORD shall fall therein.

15 Foolishness is bound into the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.

17 Bow down thine ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.

18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee, that they may indeed be ready upon thy lips.

19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made it known to thee this day, even to thee!

20 Have I not written to thee excellent things of counsel and knowledge,

21 that I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth, that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

22 Rob not the poor because he is poor, neither oppress the afflicted at the gate;

23 for the LORD will plead their cause, and despoil the soul of those that despoiled them.

24 Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man thou shalt not go,

25 lest thou learn his ways and get a snare for thy soul.

26 Be not thou one of them that strike hands or of them that are sureties for debts;

27 if thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

28 Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set.

29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before men of low estate.