Are You Lazy?

13 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
² From the fruit of a man’s mouth he enjoys good,
But the desire of the treacherous is violence.
³ The one who guards his mouth preserves his life;
The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
⁴ The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
But the soul of the diligent is made fat.
⁵ A righteous man hates falsehood,
But a wicked man acts disgustingly and shamefully.
⁶ Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless,
But wickedness subverts the sinner.
⁷ There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing;
Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.
⁸ The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth,
But the poor hears no rebuke.
⁹ The light of the righteous rejoices,
But the lamp of the wicked goes out.
¹⁰ Through insolence comes nothing but strife,
But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.
¹¹ Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles,
But the one who gathers by labor increases it.
¹² Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
¹³ The one who despises the word will be in debt to it,
But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
¹⁴ The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn aside from the snares of death.
¹⁵ Good understanding produces favor,
But the way of the treacherous is hard.
¹⁶ Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool displays folly.
¹⁷ A wicked messenger falls into adversity,
But a faithful envoy brings healing.
¹⁸ Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline,
But he who regards reproof will be honored.
¹⁹ Desire realized is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.
²⁰ He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
²¹ Adversity pursues sinners,
But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.
²² A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
²³ Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor,
But it is swept away by injustice.
²⁴ He who withholds his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
²⁵ The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,
But the stomach of the wicked is in need.

14 The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
² He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
But he who is devious in his ways despises Him.
³ In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back,
But the lips of the wise will protect them.
⁴ Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.
⁵ A trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a false witness utters lies.
⁶ A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,
But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.
⁷ Leave the presence of a fool,
Or you will not discern words of knowledge.
⁸ The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But the foolishness of fools is deceit.
⁹ Fools mock at sin,
But among the upright there is good will.
¹⁰ The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.
¹¹ The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.
¹² There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.
¹³ Even in laughter the heart may be in pain,
And the end of joy may be grief.
¹⁴ The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied with his.
¹⁵ The naive believes everything,
But the sensible man considers his steps.
¹⁶ A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil,
But a fool is arrogant and careless.
¹⁷ A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,
And a man of evil devices is hated.
¹⁸ The naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.
¹⁹ The evil will bow down before the good,
And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
²⁰ The poor is hated even by his neighbor,
But those who love the rich are many.
²¹ He who despises his neighbor sins,
But happy is he who is gracious to the poor.