Balances of deceit are an abomination to Jehovah, And a perfect weight is His delight. Pride hath come, and shame cometh, And with the lowly is wisdom. The integrity of the upright leadeth them, And the perverseness of the treacherous destroyeth them. Wealth profiteth not in a day of wrath, And righteousness delivereth from death. The righteousness of the perfect maketh right his way, And by his wickedness doth the wicked fall. The righteousness of the upright delivereth them, And in mischief the treacherous are captured. In the death of a wicked man, hope perisheth, And the expectation of the iniquitous hath been lost. The righteous from distress is drawn out, And the wicked goeth in instead of him. With the mouth a hypocrite corrupteth his friend, And by knowledge the righteous are drawn out. In the good of the righteous a city exulteth, And in the destruction of the wicked is singing. By the blessing of the upright is a city exalted, And by the mouth of the wicked thrown down. Whoso is despising his neighbour lacketh heart, And a man of understanding keepeth silence. A busybody is revealing secret counsel, And the faithful of spirit is covering the matter. Without counsels do a people fall, And deliverance is in a multitude of counsellors. Evil one suffereth when he hath been surety for a stranger, And whoso is hating suretyship is confident. A gracious woman retaineth honour, And terrible men retain riches. A kind man is rewarding his own soul, And the fierce is troubling his own flesh. The wicked is getting a lying wage, And whoso is sowing righteousness — a true reward. Rightly is righteousness for life, And whoso is pursuing evil — for his own death. An abomination to Jehovah are the perverse of heart, And the perfect of the way are His delight. Hand to hand, the wicked is not acquitted, And the seed of the righteous hath escaped. A ring of gold in the nose of a sow — A fair woman and stubborn of behaviour. The desire of the righteous is only good, The hope of the wicked is transgression. There is who is scattering, and yet is increased, And who is keeping back from uprightness, only to want. A liberal soul is made fat, And whoso is watering, he also is watered. Whoso is withholding corn, the people execrate him, And a blessing is for the head of him who is selling. Whoso is earnestly seeking good Seeketh a pleasing thing, And whoso is seeking evil — it meeteth him. Whoso is confident in his wealth he falleth, And as a leaf, the righteous flourish. Whoso is troubling his own house inheriteth wind, And a servant is the fool to the wise of heart. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And whoso is taking souls is wise. Lo, the righteous in the earth is recompensed, Surely also the wicked and the sinner!
FIND YOUR PASSAGE
Search the Scriptures

A LIBRARY TO EXPLORE
A moment.
A passage.
A new perspective.
Read the Bible, discover the Apocrypha, and explore early Christian writings.
About this collection
This library includes complete Bibles, portions, historical variants, Apocrypha, and separately labeled early writings. Different traditions recognize different canons. Manuscript gaps and editorial reconstructions retain their source labels.
Source records assess public-domain status in the United States. Rights can differ by territory, including King James Version conditions in the United Kingdom. Read the source and rights record for each edition.
YOUR READING LIFE
Saved passages
Saved on this browser. Export a copy to keep your notes when changing devices or clearing browser data.
MAKE ROOM TO READ
Your reading space
Appearance
Reading
Listen
Offline reading
Keep an edition on this device for reading and searching while disconnected. Installed voices can read it aloud. Browser background playback varies by device.
Your privacy
Reading preferences, progress, bookmarks, highlights and notes stay in this browser using functional storage. Online reading and search send the requested edition, passage or query to the server. Prepared narration requests identify the edition, book and chapter. Ordinary hosting access and security logs can include IP addresses, requested URLs, times and basic client information. The website is free, account-free and analytics-free.