Proverbs 22

1A good name is more desirable than great riches; favor is better than silver and gold.

2The rich and the poor meet together; Yahweh is the Maker of them all.

3A shrewd person sees danger and hides, but the simple keep going and pay for it.

4The reward for humility—the fear of Yahweh—is riches, honor, and life.

5Thorns and traps lie on the path of the crooked; whoever guards his life keeps far from them.

6Train a child in keeping with his way; even when he is old, he will not turn from it.

7The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

8Whoever sows injustice will reap trouble, and the rod of his fury will come to an end.

9Whoever has a generous eye will be blessed, because he shares his bread with the poor.

10Drive out the mocker, and conflict will go out; quarreling and insults will stop.

11Whoever loves a pure heart and has gracious lips will have the king as his friend.

12The eyes of Yahweh watch over knowledge, but he overturns the words of the treacherous.

13The lazy person says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!”

14The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit; the one Yahweh is angry with will fall into it.

15Folly is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

16Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, and whoever gives to the rich, will surely come to want.

17Turn your ear and listen to the words of the wise, and set your heart on my knowledge,

18for it is pleasant if you keep them within you and have them all ready on your lips.

19So that your trust may be in Yahweh, I have made them known to you today—yes, to you.

20Have I not written for you excellent sayings of counsel and knowledge,

21to teach you what is right and true, so that you can bring back true words to those who send you?

22Do not rob a poor person because he is poor, and do not crush the needy at the gate,

23for Yahweh will plead their case and will take the life of those who rob them.

24Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, and do not go around with one given to rage,

25or you will learn his ways and set a trap for yourself.

26Do not be one of those who shake hands on a pledge, who put up security for debts.

27If you have nothing to pay with, why should your bed be taken from under you?

28Do not move the ancient boundary stone that your ancestors set up.

29Do you see someone skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure people.