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Proverbs 19

1

Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

2

Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

3

The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.

4

Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.

1
5

A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.

6

Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.

7

All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.

8

He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.

9

A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

10

Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

11

The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

12

The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.

13

A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

14

House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the Lord.

15

Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

1
16

He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.

1
17

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

18

Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

1
19

A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.

20

Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

21

There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

22

The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.

23

The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

24

A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

25

Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.

26

He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.

27

Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

28

An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.

29

Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.

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Proverbs 19

Chapter 19 explores themes of poverty and wealth, the consequences of different moral choices, and the corrective power of discipline and reproof in formation toward wisdom. The chapter observes that better is the poor who walks in integrity than the rich who is perverse in his ways, and repeatedly emphasizes that wisdom, understanding, and knowledge are more valuable than gold or silver. The chapter addresses the destructive power of rash speech and hasty decisions: a man's own folly ruins his way and his heart rages against the LORD; the heat of anger leads to many offenses; fools speak hastily and are destroyed. Memorable images include the wise of heart being called discerning and pleasant of speech gaining persuasiveness; the slothful desiring and getting nothing while the diligent are richly satisfied; the poor serving others while the wealthy command. The chapter also introduces the theme of parental discipline: he who spares the rod hates his son while he who loves him disciplines him diligently; chasten your son while there is hope, and do not let your soul be set on his destruction. Chapter 19 emphasizes that wisdom and righteousness are available to the poor and lowly, that parental and community discipline are acts of love essential to character formation, and that one's circumstances are less determinative of flourishing than one's moral character and responsiveness to instruction.

Proverbs 19:14

Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife comes from the LORD—while material inheritance passes through ordinary genealogy, a wise spouse is presented as a divine gift transcending human selection, suggesting marriage's spiritual significance beyond economics.

Proverbs 19:15

Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry—the natural consequences of sloth unfold automatically without requiring external punishment, with sleep as metaphor for the spiritual death of apathy and hunger as literal outcome of inaction.

Proverbs 19:16

Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his own life, but he who is careless in his ways will die—obedience to moral law becomes the means of self-preservation rather than external constraint, grounding the fear of the LORD in enlightened self-interest aligned with cosmic order.

Proverbs 19:17

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done—generosity toward the vulnerable is reframed as a transaction with God Himself, transforming acts of mercy into investments in divine relationship with assured return.

Proverbs 19:18

Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not set your heart on his destruction—parental discipline is presented as an expression of love that preserves the child's future, with refusal to correct identified as tacit consent to the child's ruin.

Proverbs 19:19

A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do it again—chronic anger produces predictable destructive consequences, and repeated rescue from self-inflicted harm merely enables the fool's continued self-sabotage.

Proverbs 19:20

Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise—wisdom is explicitly portrayed as achievable through receptivity to teaching rather than isolated brilliance, connecting moral formation to community and the humility to learn from others.

Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails—human intention and divine sovereignty coexist in the proverb's tension, teaching that while planning reflects wisdom, ultimate outcomes rest with God's governance and purposes.

Proverbs 19:22

What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar—the deepest human longing is identified as loyalty and truthfulness in relationship, establishing that integrity matters more than material security in fulfilling authentic human needs.

Proverbs 19:23

The fear of the LORD leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble—reverence toward God becomes the foundation for both spiritual and material flourishing, with the fear of the LORD positioned as the source of contentment that transcends circumstance.

Proverbs 19:24

A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it to his mouth—the grotesque image of laziness so extreme that even feeding oneself seems too much effort satirizes the fool's passivity while exposing sloth as self-destructive absurdity.

Proverbs 19:25

Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge—the proverb distinguishes how different types learn: fools require dramatic public consequence while the discerning benefit from direct correction, grounding pedagogy in realism about human nature.

Proverbs 19:26

He who robs his father and drives out his mother is a son who brings shame and disgrace—violation of filial duty through theft and cruelty represents a fundamental rupture of family order, with shame as the social consequence of dishonoring those who gave life.

Proverbs 19:27

Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge—receptivity to correction is presented as essential to maintaining fidelity to wisdom's way, with cessation of learning identified as the path to deliberate straying into foolishness.

Proverbs 19:28

A corrupt witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil—the perverter of legal truth is characterized by contempt for justice itself and by appetite for wickedness, connecting perjury to a fundamental orientation away from moral order.

Proverbs 19:29

Penalties are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools—the proverb presents divine order as naturally yielding consequences for contempt and folly, with beatings as the inevitable teaching method for those who reject wisdom's gentler instruction.

Proverbs 19:1

Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse—wisdom literature consistently elevates moral integrity above material wealth, establishing that righteous poverty outweighs prosperous foolishness as a measure of human worth and divine favor.

Proverbs 19:2

Desire without knowledge is not good—how much more will hasty feet miss the way—the proverb warns that enthusiasm untempered by understanding leads to misdirected effort and spiritual wandering, connecting pursuit of goals to the need for wisdom's guidance.

Proverbs 19:3

A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD—this verse exposes the self-deceptive nature of moral failure, where fools blame divine injustice rather than acknowledging their own choices, revealing how pride distorts moral accountability.

Proverbs 19:4

Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him—the observation captures the transactional nature of relationships severed from genuine virtue, illustrating how material advantage attracts superficial loyalty while hardship reveals true character.

Proverbs 19:5

A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free—legal and divine justice converge in warning against perjury, grounding the fear of the LORD in concrete social consequences that protect community truth-telling.

Proverbs 19:6

Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts—the proverb observes how patronage and flattery distort authentic relationships, connecting the fool's pursuit of favor with the wise person's adherence to principle regardless of advantage.

Proverbs 19:7

The poor are shunned by all their relatives—how much more do their friends avoid them; though the poor pursue them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found—this verse portrays the isolation of poverty with unflinching realism, exposing social indifference as a structural sin.

Proverbs 19:8

The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper—wisdom is portrayed as supremely valuable because it produces flourishing across all dimensions of existence, connecting intellectual and moral development directly to life's ultimate good.

Proverbs 19:9

A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will perish—this repetition of 19:5 emphasizes the non-negotiable consequences of dishonesty, with intensified language ('perish') underscoring divine judgment as inevitable for those who corrupt testimony.

Proverbs 19:10

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—still less for a slave to rule over princes—the verse establishes moral and social order as reflecting a cosmic fitness, where excellence of character, not accident of birth or wealth, should determine one's station.

Proverbs 19:11

A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense—patience emerges not from weakness but from wisdom's strength, revealing that moral maturity consists in choosing which battles to fight and which slights to transcend through magnanimity.

Proverbs 19:12

A king's rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass—the simile captures the terrifying and rejuvenating extremes of royal power, using natural imagery to teach that those under authority live perpetually between threat and blessing.

Proverbs 19:13

A foolish son is his father's ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof—familial relationships are portrayed as having immense power to destroy domestic peace, with foolishness in children and contentious speech from spouses identified as sources of ongoing misery.