# Chapter 19
1 Better a poor person who lives with integrity
than someone who has deceitful lips and is a fool.
2 Even zeal is not good without knowledge,
and the one who acts hastily sins.
3 A person’s own foolishness leads him astray,
yet his heart rages against the Lord.
4 Wealth attracts many friends,
but a poor person is separated from his friend.
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and one who utters lies will not escape.
6 Many seek a ruler’s favor,
and everyone is a friend of one who gives gifts.
7 All the brothers of a poor person hate him;
how much more do his friends
keep their distance from him!
He may pursue them with words,
but they are not there.
8 The one who acquires good sense loves himself;
one who safeguards understanding finds success.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and one who utters lies perishes.
10 Luxury is not appropriate for a fool—
how much less for a slave to rule over princes!
11 A person’s insight gives him patience,
and his virtue is to overlook an offense.
12 A king’s rage is like the roaring of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13 A foolish son is his father’s ruin,
and a wife’s nagging is an endless dripping.
14 A house and wealth are inherited from fathers,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
15 Laziness induces deep sleep,
and a lazy person will go hungry.
16 The one who keeps commands preserves himself;
one who disregards his ways will die.
17 Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord,
and he will give a reward to the lender.
18 Discipline your son while there is hope;
don’t set your heart on being the cause of his death.
19 A person with intense anger bears the penalty;
if you rescue him, you’ll have to do it again.
20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction
so that you may be wise later in life.
21 Many plans are in a person’s heart,
but the Lord’s decree will prevail.
22 What is desirable in a person is his fidelity;
better to be a poor person than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life;
one will sleep at night without danger.
24 The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he doesn’t even bring it back to his mouth!
25 Strike a mocker, and the inexperienced learn a lesson;
rebuke the discerning, and he gains knowledge.
26 The one who plunders his father and evicts his mother
is a disgraceful and shameful son.
27 If you stop listening to correction, my son,
you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A worthless witness mocks justice,
and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity.
29 Judgments are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.