Proverbs 22

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Proverbs 22 presents a collection of maxims regarding human character, social interactions, and personal conduct. It contrasts the behaviors and outcomes of the prudent, the humble, and the generous with those of the perverse, the lazy, and the mocker. The text addresses various societal roles, including the rich, the poor, rulers, and children, while noting the role of the Lord as the maker of all people and the watcher over knowledge. Later verses introduce a distinct section of thirty sayings containing specific instructions about avoiding dishonesty, controlling associations, and protecting the vulnerable. The chapter concludes with warnings against financial surety and moving boundary stones, alongside an observation about the status of skilled workers before kings.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹A good name is more desirable than great riches; favor is better than silver and gold. ²The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all. ³The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences. ⁴The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD are wealth and honor and life. ⁵Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse; he who guards his soul stays far from them. ⁶Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. ⁷The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. ⁸He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed. ⁹A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor. ¹⁰Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart; even quarreling and insults will cease. ¹¹He who loves a pure heart and gracious lips will have the king for a friend. ¹²The LORD’s eyes keep watch over knowledge, but He frustrates the words of the faithless. ¹³The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!” ¹⁴The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it. ¹⁵Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. ¹⁶Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty. ¹⁷Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise— apply your mind to my knowledge— ¹⁸for it is pleasing when you keep them within you and they are constantly on your lips. ¹⁹So that your trust may be in the LORD, I instruct you today—yes, you. ²⁰Have I not written for you thirty sayings about counsel and knowledge, ²¹to show you true and reliable words, that you may soundly answer those who sent you? ²²Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate, ²³for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them. ²⁴Do not make friends with an angry man, and do not associate with a hot-tempered man, ²⁵or you may learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. ²⁶Do not be one who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts. ²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you? ²⁸Do not move an ancient boundary stone which your fathers have placed. ²⁹Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will be stationed in the presence of kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.