Proverbs 10:1–4

¹THE proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.

¹⁵The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

¹⁵My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.

¹⁶Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.

³Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.

²⁴The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.

²⁵Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.

²⁰A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.

²¹He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.

⁹And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

¹³A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

¹⁹And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

¹THESE are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

³²And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

⁴Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.

²⁸In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.

⁶The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

⁶They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

⁷None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

⁸(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

⁹That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

¹⁰For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

¹⁹They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

²¹That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

²⁷Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

²To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!

³And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

²²And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

²³And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

¹GO to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

²Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

³Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

¹⁵And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

¹⁶And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

¹⁷And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

¹⁸And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

²⁰But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

²¹So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

⁹And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

⁵But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

³Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

³⁰Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

³¹Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

⁹O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

¹⁰The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.

¹⁹To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

¹⁹They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

⁵Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

⁶So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

²⁰In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.

³¹¶ But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

¹⁶He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

³²The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.

²⁰Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

²¹There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

²²In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

²⁸The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

⁵That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

⁶Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;

⁷Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

⁸He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

²²¶ And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

²³The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

²⁴Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

¹⁰The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

⁶Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

⁷Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?

⁸Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

¹⁴Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.

¹⁵Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

⁴The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

⁴The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

⁵The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

²⁴The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.

⁶¶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

⁷Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

⁸Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

⁹How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

¹⁰Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

¹¹So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

²⁴There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

²⁴A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

¹³Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

⁵And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

⁶And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

⁷And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

⁸For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

¹⁰Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

²⁷Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

³⁰I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

³¹And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.

³²Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.

³³Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

³⁴So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.

¹⁸¶ By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.

¹¹And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:

¹²That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.