Your Daily Bread: Proverbs 19

Proverbs 19

It is better to be poor and honest than to be a fool and dishonest. Zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way. People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD. Wealth makes many "friends"; poverty drives them away. A false witness will not go unpunished, nor will a liar escape. Many beg favors from a prince; everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts! If the relatives of the poor despise them, how much more will their friends avoid them. The poor call after them, but they are gone. To acquire wisdom is to love oneself; people who cherish understanding will prosper. A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will be destroyed. It isn't right for a fool to live in luxury or for a slave to rule over princes! People with good sense restrain their anger; they earn esteem by overlooking wrongs. The king's anger is like a lion's roar, but his favor is like dew on the grass. A foolish child is a calamity to a father; a nagging wife annoys like a constant dripping. Parents can provide their sons with an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the LORD can give an understanding wife. A lazy person sleeps soundly -- and goes hungry. Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death. If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD -- and he will repay you! Discipline your children while there is hope. If you don't, you will ruin their lives. Short-tempered people must pay their own penalty. If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again. Get all the advice and instruction you can, and be wise the rest of your life. You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail. Loyalty makes a person attractive. And it is better to be poor than dishonest. Fear of the LORD gives life, security, and protection from harm. Some people are so lazy that they won't even lift a finger to feed themselves. If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded will learn a lesson; if you reprove the wise, they will be all the wiser. Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother are a public disgrace and an embarrassment. If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you have turned your back on knowledge. A corrupt witness makes a mockery of justice; the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil. Mockers will be punished, and the backs of fools will be beaten.