Proverbs 22

Proverbs 22 (Amplified Bible)

Proverbs 22

 ¹A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.     ²The rich and poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all.^{(A)
    3}A prudent man sees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished [with suffering].
    ⁴The reward of humility and the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
    ⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the obstinate and willful; he who guards himself will be far from them.
    ⁶Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.^{(B)
    7}The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
    ⁸He who sows iniquity will reap calamity and futility, and the rod of his wrath [with which he smites others] will fail.
    ⁹He who has a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.^{(C)
    10}Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out; yes, strife and abuse will cease.
    ¹¹He who loves purity and the pure in heart and who is gracious in speech--because of the grace of his lips will he have the king for his friend.
    ¹²The eyes of the Lord keep guard over knowledge and him who has it, but He overthrows the words of the treacherous.
    ¹³The sluggard says, There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!
    ¹⁴The mouth of a loose woman is a deep pit [for ensnaring wild animals]; he with whom the Lord is indignant and who is abhorrent to Him will fall into it.
    ¹⁵Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.
    ¹⁶He who oppresses the poor to get gain for himself and he who gives to the rich--both will surely come to want.
    ¹⁷Listen (consent and submit) to the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge;
    ¹⁸For it will be pleasant if you keep them in your mind [believing them]; your lips will be accustomed to [confessing] them.
    ¹⁹So that your trust (belief, reliance, support, and confidence) may be in the Lord, I have made known these things to you today, even to you.
    ²⁰Have I not written to you [long ago] excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
    ²¹To make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?^{(D)
    22}Rob not the poor [being tempted by their helplessness], neither oppress the afflicted at the gate [where the city court is held],^{(E)
    23}For the Lord will plead their cause and deprive of life those who deprive [the poor or afflicted].^{(F)
    24}Make no friendships with a man given to anger, and with a wrathful man do not associate,
    ²⁵Lest you learn his ways and get yourself into a snare.
    ²⁶Be not one of those who strike hands and pledge themselves, or of those who become security for another's debts.
    ²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take your bed from under you?
    ²⁸Remove not the ancient landmark which your fathers have set up.
    ²⁹Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
   

Cross references:

1. Proverbs 22:2 : Job 31:15; Prov 14:31
2. Proverbs 22:6 : Eph 6:4; II Tim 3:15
3. Proverbs 22:9 : II Cor 9:6-10
4. Proverbs 22:21 : Luke 1:3, 4
5. Proverbs 22:22 : Exod 23:6; Job 31:16, 21
6. Proverbs 22:23 : Zech 7:10; Mal 3:5