11
Contrast the Upright and the Wicked
1 A
Afalse balance is an abomination to the Loʀᴅ,
But a
Bjust weight is His delight.
2 When
Apride comes, then comes dishonor,
But with the humble is wisdom.
3 The
Aintegrity of the upright will guide them,
But the
Bcrookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.
4 ARiches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But
Brighteousness delivers from death.
5 The
Arighteousness of the blameless will smooth his way,
But
Bthe wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,
But the treacherous will
Abe caught by
their own greed.
7 When a wicked man dies,
his Aexpectation will perish,
And the
Bhope of strong men perishes.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble,
But the wicked
1takes his place.
9 With
his Amouth the godless man destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the
Brighteous will be delivered.
10 When it
Agoes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,
And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.
11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.
12 He who despises his neighbor lacks
1sense,
But a man of understanding keeps silent.
13 He
Awho goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is
1trustworthy
Bconceals a matter.
14 Where there is no
Aguidance the people fall,
But in abundance of counselors there is
1victory.
15 He who is
Aguarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it,
But he who hates
1being a guarantor is secure.
16 A
Agracious woman attains honor,
And ruthless men attain riches.
17 The
Amerciful man does
1himself good,
But the cruel man
2does himself harm.
18 The wicked earns deceptive wages,
But he who
Asows righteousness
gets a true reward.
19 He who is steadfast in
Arighteousness
will attain to life,
And
Bhe who pursues evil
will bring about his own death.
20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Loʀᴅ,
But the
Ablameless in
their 1walk are His
Bdelight.
21 1Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished,
But the
2descendants of the righteous will be delivered.
22 As a
Aring of gold in a swine’s snout
So is a beautiful woman who lacks
1discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the
Aexpectation of the wicked is wrath.
24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,
And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want.
25 The
1Agenerous man will be
2prosperous,
And he who
Bwaters will himself be watered.
26 He who withholds grain, the
Apeople will curse him,
But
Bblessing will be on the head of him who
Csells
it. 27 He who diligently seeks good seeks favor,
But
Ahe who seeks evil, evil will come to him.
28 He who
Atrusts in his riches will fall,
But
Bthe righteous will flourish like the
green leaf.
29 He who
Atroubles his own house will
Binherit wind,
And
Cthe foolish will be servant to the wisehearted.
30 The fruit of the righteous is
Aa tree of life,
And
Bhe who is wise
1wins souls.
31 If
Athe righteous will be rewarded in the earth,
How much more the wicked and the sinner!