1 B alances of deceit an abomination to Jehovah, And a perfect weight His delight.

The Lord hates a false weight, but a true weight is His joy.

2 P ride hath come, and shame cometh, And with the lowly wisdom.

When pride comes, then comes shame, but wisdom is with those who have no pride.

3 T he integrity of the upright leadeth them, And the perverseness of the treacherous destroyeth them.

The honor of good people will lead them, but those who hurt others will be destroyed by their own false ways.

4 W ealth profiteth not in a day of wrath, And righteousness delivereth from death.

Riches are of no use in the day of God’s anger, but being right with God saves from death.

5 T he righteousness of the perfect maketh right his way, And by his wickedness doth the wicked fall.

Those right with God, who are without blame, make a straight way for themselves, but the sinful will fall by their own wrong-doing.

6 T he righteousness of the upright delivereth them, And in mischief the treacherous are captured.

Being right with God will save the honest man, but those who hurt others will be trapped by their wrong desires.

7 I n the death of a wicked man, hope perisheth, And the expectation of the iniquitous hath been lost.

When a sinful man dies, his hope dies with him, and all his power comes to nothing.

8 T he righteous from distress is drawn out, And the wicked goeth in instead of him.

The one who is right with God is kept from trouble, but the sinful get into trouble instead.

9 W ith the mouth a hypocrite corrupteth his friend, And by knowledge the righteous are drawn out.

The sinful man destroys his neighbor with his mouth, but those who are fair will be saved through knowing God.

10 I n the good of the righteous a city exulteth, And in the destruction of the wicked singing.

The city is glad when everything goes well with those who are right with God, and there are shouts of joy when the sinful are destroyed.

11 B y the blessing of the upright is a city exalted, And by the mouth of the wicked thrown down.

A city is honored by the good things that come to the faithful, but it is torn down by the mouth of the sinful.

12 W hoso is despising his neighbour lacketh heart, And a man of understanding keepeth silence.

He who hates his neighbor does not think well, but a man of understanding keeps quiet.

13 A busybody is revealing secret counsel, And the faithful of spirit is covering the matter.

He who is always telling stories makes secrets known, but he who can be trusted keeps a thing hidden.

14 W ithout counsels do a people fall, And deliverance in a multitude of counsellors.

A nation falls where there is no wise leading, but it is safe where there are many wise men who know what to do.

15 E vil suffereth when he hath been surety a stranger, And whoso is hating suretyship is confident.

He who puts himself as trust for what a stranger owes to another will suffer for it, but he who hates to be trusted for what another owes is safe.

16 A gracious woman retaineth honour, And terrible retain riches.

A kind woman gets honor, and bad men get riches.

17 A kind man is rewarding his own soul, And the fierce is troubling his own flesh.

The man who shows loving-kindness does himself good, but the man without pity hurts himself.

18 T he wicked is getting a lying wage, And whoso is sowing righteousness -- a true reward.

The sinful man earns false pay, but he who spreads what is right and good gets pay that is sure.

19 R ightly righteousness for life, And whoso is pursuing evil -- for his own death.

He who will not be moved from being right with God will live, but he who goes for what is bad will bring about his own death.

20 A n abomination to Jehovah the perverse of heart, And the perfect of the way His delight.

The Lord hates those who are sinful in heart, but those who walk without blame are His joy.

21 H and to hand, the wicked is not acquitted, And the seed of the righteous hath escaped.

Know for sure that the sinful man will not go without being punished, but the children of those who are right with God will be saved.

22 A ring of gold in the nose of a sow -- A fair woman and stubborn of behaviour.

A beautiful woman who does not think well is like a gold ring in the nose of a pig.

23 T he desire of the righteous only good, The hope of the wicked transgression.

The desire of those who are right with God is only good, but the hope of the sinful is anger.

24 T here is who is scattering, and yet is increased, And who is keeping back from uprightness, only to want.

There is one who is free in giving, and yet he grows richer. And there is one who keeps what he should give, but he ends up needing more.

25 A liberal soul is made fat, And whoso is watering, he also is watered.

The man who gives much will have much, and he who helps others will be helped himself.

26 W hoso is withholding corn, the people execrate him, And a blessing for the head of him who is selling.

The people curse him who keeps grain for himself, but good comes to him who sells it.

27 W hoso is earnestly seeking good Seeketh a pleasing thing, And whoso is seeking evil -- it meeteth him.

He who looks for good finds favor, but he who looks for wrong-doing will have bad come to him.

28 W hoso is confident in his wealth he falleth, And as a leaf, the righteous flourish.

He who trusts in his riches will fall, but those who are right with God will grow like a green leaf.

29 W hoso is troubling his own house inheriteth wind, And a servant the fool to the wise of heart.

He who troubles his own house will be given the wind, and the foolish will serve those with a wise heart.

30 T he fruit of the righteous a tree of life, And whoso is taking souls wise.

The fruit of those who are right with God is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

31 L o, the righteous in the earth is recompensed, Surely also the wicked and the sinner!

If those who are right with God will be paid on earth, how much more the sinful and the wrong-doer!