Proverbs Chapter 10

¹ Proverbs of Solomon

A wise son makes a happy father,

but a foolish one grieves his mother.

                  ²Ill-gotten gain doesn’t gain you anything,

            but goodness delivers you from death.

³ The LORD won’t let good people go hungry;

he thwarts what the wicked want.

                  ⁴A lazy hand makes for poverty;

            a diligent one produces wealth.

⁵ They who gather crops in the summer are smart;

those who sleep at harvest time are shameful.

                  ⁶Blessings come to the good,

            but the sinful harbor violent intentions.                    

Prov 10:1-6

⁷ Good people leave blessed memories behind,

but sinful people’s names rot away.

                  ⁸The wise in heart accept commands,

            but babbling fools come to ruin.

⁹ If you live with integrity, you’ll live with confidence;

but people soon find out if you’re crooked.

                  ¹⁰The one that winks causes trouble;

            babbling fools come to ruin.

¹¹ Good people’s words are life-giving fountains;

what sinners harbor discord.

                  ¹²Hatred stirs up conflict,

            but love atones for all sins.

¹³ Wisdom comes from people that have insight;

but a rod is for the back of fools.

                  ¹⁴The wise store up knowledge,

            but ruin is at hand for foolish people.                        

Prov 10:7-14

¹⁵ For the rich, wealth is a fortress;

for the poor, poverty is their ruin.

                  ¹⁶Life is good people’s pay;

            punishment is bad people’s payback.

¹⁷ Listening to instruction puts you on the route to life;

abandoning correction gets you lost.

                  ¹⁸Hiding hatred makes you a liar;

            spreading slander makes you a fool.

¹⁹ Talking too much makes you likely to sin;

so be wise and limit what you say.

                  ²⁰The words of good people are like fine silver;

            what sinners say isn’t worth repeating.                     

Prov 10:15-20

²¹ What good people say feeds many;

foolish people starve to death from ignorance.

                  ²²The LORD’s blessing makes you rich,

            and he doesn’t add sorrow to it.

²³ Sin is fun for fools;

so is wisdom for the wise.

                  ²⁴What sinners fear tends to happen;

            what good people want they tend to receive.

²⁵ After a windstorm passes, sinners have been blown away;

but the godly have a firm foundation.

                  ²⁶To those who hire them,

                  lazy people irritate like vinegar on teeth

                  and smoke in the eyes.                                         

Prov 10:21-26

²⁷ Respecting the LORD lengthens your life;

sinfulness cuts it short.

                  ²⁸Good people’s hopes result in happiness,

            but the expectations of the sinful fade away.

²⁹ The LORD’s way is your fortress if you’re godly,

but it destroys sinners.

                  ³⁰Good people won’t be displaced,

            but the sinful will be expelled from their land.

³¹ The mouth of good people overflows with wisdom,

but the perverse tongue of the wicked will be cut off.

                  ³²Good people say what’s acceptable,

            but the sinful say perverse things.                             

Prov 10:27-32