Proverbs 11

Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked

1 A ^afalse balance is an abomination to the Lord,
But a ^bjust weight is His delight.
2 When ^cpride comes, then comes dishonor;
But with the humble there is wisdom.
3 The ^dintegrity of the upright will guide them,
But the ^eperversity of the treacherous will destroy them.
4 ^fRiches do not benefit on the day of wrath,
But ^grighteousness rescues from death.
5 The ^hrighteousness of the blameless will smooth his way,
But ⁱthe wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will rescue them,
But the treacherous will ^jbe caught by their own greed.
7 When a wicked person dies, his ^kexpectation will perish,
And the ^lhope of strong people perishes.
8 The righteous is rescued from trouble,
But the wicked ▼

▼Lit enters

takes his place.
9 With his ⁿmouth the godless person destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the ^orighteous will be rescued.
10 When things ^pgo well for 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 One who despises his neighbor lacks ▼

▼Lit heart

sense,
But a person of understanding keeps silent.
13 One ^rwho goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
But one who is ▼

▼Lit faithful of spirit

trustworthy ^tconceals a matter.
14 Where there is no ^uguidance the people fall,
But in an abundance of counselors there is ▼

▼Lit deliverance

victory.
15 One who is a ^wguarantor for a stranger will certainly suffer for it,
But one who hates ▼

▼Lit those who strike hands

being a guarantor is secure.
16 A ^ygracious woman attains honor,
And ruthless men attain riches.
17 A ^zmerciful person does ▼

▼Lit his soul

himself good,
But the cruel person ▼

▼Lit ruins his flesh

does himself harm.
18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
But one who ^acsows righteousness gets a true reward.
19 One who is steadfast in ^adrighteousness attains life,
But ^aeone who pursues evil attains his own death.
20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the ^afblameless in their ▼

▼Lit way

walk are His ^ahdelight.
21 ▼

▼Lit Hand to hand

Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished,
But the ▼

▼Lit seed

descendants of the righteous will be rescued.
22 As a ^akring of gold in a pig’s snout
So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the ^alexpectation 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 poverty.
25 A ▼

▼Lit soul of blessing

, ^angenerous person will be ▼

▼Lit made fat

prosperous,
And one who ^apgives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.
26 One who withholds grain, the ^aqpeople will curse him,
But ^arblessing will be on the head of him who ^assells it.
27 One who diligently seeks good seeks favor,
But ^atone who seeks evil, evil will come to him.
28 One who ^autrusts in his riches will fall,
But ^avthe righteous will flourish like the green leaf.
29 One who ^awtroubles his own house will ^axinherit wind,
And ^aythe foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.
30 The fruit of the righteous is ^aza tree of life,
And ^baone who is wise ▼

▼Lit takes

gains souls.
31 If ^bcthe righteous will be repaid on the earth,
How much more the wicked and the sinner!