1
Wise children pay attention when their parents correct them, but arrogant people never admit they are wrong.
2
Good people will be rewarded for what they say, but those who are deceitful are hungry for violence.
3
Be careful what you say and protect your life. A careless talker destroys himself.
4
No matter how much a lazy person may want something, he will never get it. A hard worker will get everything he wants.
5
Honest people hate lies, but the words of wicked people are shameful and disgraceful.
6
Righteousness protects the innocent; wickedness is the downfall of sinners.
7
Some people pretend to be rich, but have nothing. Others pretend to be poor, but own a fortune.
8
The rich have to use their money to save their lives, but no one threatens the poor.
9
The righteous are like a light shining brightly; the wicked are like a lamp flickering out.
10
Arrogance causes nothing but trouble. It is wiser to ask for advice.
11
The more easily you get your wealth, the sooner you will lose it. The harder it is to earn, the more you will have.
12
When hope is crushed, the heart is crushed, but a wish come true fills you with joy.
13
If you refuse good advice, you are asking for trouble; follow it and you are safe.
14
The teachings of the wise are a fountain of life; they will help you escape when your life is in danger.
15
Intelligence wins respect, but those who can't be trusted are on the road to ruin.
16
Sensible people always think before they act, but stupid people advertise their ignorance.
17
Unreliable messengers cause trouble, but those who can be trusted bring peace.
18
Someone who will not learn will be poor and disgraced. Anyone who listens to correction is respected.
19
How good it is to get what you want! Stupid people refuse to turn away from evil.
20
Keep company with the wise and you will become wise. If you make friends with stupid people, you will be ruined.
21
Trouble follows sinners everywhere, but righteous people will be rewarded with good things.
22
Good people will have wealth to leave to their grandchildren, but the wealth of sinners will go to the righteous.
23
Unused fields could yield plenty of food for the poor, but unjust people keep them from being farmed.
24
If you don't punish your children, you don't love them. If you do love them, you will correct them.
25
The righteous have enough to eat, but the wicked are always hungry.
1
Homes are made by the wisdom of women, but are destroyed by foolishness.
2
Be honest and you show that you have reverence for the LORD; be dishonest and you show that you do not.
3
Proud fools talk too much; the words of the wise protect them.
4
Without any oxen to pull the plow your barn will be empty, but with them it will be full of grain.
5
A reliable witness always tells the truth, but an unreliable one tells nothing but lies.
6
Conceited people can never become wise, but intelligent people learn easily.
7
Stay away from foolish people; they have nothing to teach you.
8
Why is a clever person wise? Because he knows what to do. Why is a stupid person foolish? Because he only thinks he knows.
9
Foolish people don't care if they sin, but good people want to be forgiven.
10
Your joy is your own; your bitterness is your own. No one can share them with you.
11
A good person's house will still be standing after an evildoer's house has been destroyed.
12
What you think is the right road may lead to death.
13
Laughter may hide sadness. When happiness is gone, sorrow is always there.
14
Bad people will get what they deserve. Good people will be rewarded for their deeds.
15
A fool will believe anything; smart people watch their step.
16
Sensible people are careful to stay out of trouble, but stupid people are careless and act too quickly.
17
People with a hot temper do foolish things; wiser people remain calm.
18
Ignorant people get what their foolishness deserves, but the clever are rewarded with knowledge.
19
Evil people will have to bow down to the righteous and humbly beg their favor.
20
No one likes the poor, not even their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.
21
If you want to be happy, be kind to the poor; it is a sin to despise anyone.
22
You will earn the trust and respect of others if you work for good; if you work for evil, you are making a mistake.
23
Work and you will earn a living; if you sit around talking you will be poor.
24
Wise people are rewarded with wealth, but fools are known by their foolishness.
25
A witness saves lives when he tells the truth; when he tells lies, he betrays people.
26
Reverence for the LORD gives confidence and security to a man and his family.
27
Do you want to avoid death? Reverence for the LORD is a fountain of life.
28
A king's greatness depends on how many people he rules; without them he is nothing.
29
If you stay calm, you are wise, but if you have a hot temper, you only show how stupid you are.
30
Peace of mind makes the body healthy, but jealousy is like a cancer.
31
If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.
32
Wicked people bring about their own downfall by their evil deeds, but good people are protected by their integrity.
33
Wisdom is in every thought of intelligent people; fools know nothing about wisdom.
34
Righteousness makes a nation great; sin is a disgrace to any nation.
35
Kings are pleased with competent officials, but they punish those who fail them.
1
A gentle answer quiets anger, but a harsh one stirs it up.
2
When wise people speak, they make knowledge attractive, but stupid people spout nonsense.
3
The LORD sees what happens everywhere; he is watching us, whether we do good or evil.
4
Kind words bring life, but cruel words crush your spirit.
5
It is foolish to ignore what your parents taught you; it is wise to accept their correction.
6
Righteous people keep their wealth, but the wicked lose theirs when hard times come.
7
Knowledge is spread by people who are wise, not by fools.
8
The LORD is pleased when good people pray, but hates the sacrifices that the wicked bring him.
9
The LORD hates the ways of evil people, but loves those who do what is right.
10
If you do what is wrong, you will be severely punished; you will die if you do not let yourself be corrected.
11
Not even the world of the dead can keep the LORD from knowing what is there; how then can we hide our thoughts from God?
12
Conceited people do not like to be corrected; they never ask for advice from those who are wiser.
13
When people are happy, they smile, but when they are sad, they look depressed.
14
Intelligent people want to learn, but stupid people are satisfied with ignorance.
15
The life of the poor is a constant struggle, but happy people always enjoy life.
16
Better to be poor and fear the LORD than to be rich and in trouble.
17
Better to eat vegetables with people you love than to eat the finest meat where there is hate.
18
Hot tempers cause arguments, but patience brings peace.
19
If you are lazy, you will meet difficulty everywhere, but if you are honest, you will have no trouble.
20
Wise children make their fathers happy. Only fools despise their mothers.
21
Stupid people are happy with their foolishness, but the wise will do what is right.
22
Get all the advice you can, and you will succeed; without it you will fail.
23
What a joy it is to find just the right word for the right occasion!
24
Wise people walk the road that leads upward to life, not the road that leads downward to death.
25
The LORD will destroy the homes of arrogant men, but he will protect a widow's property.
26
The LORD hates evil thoughts, but he is pleased with friendly words.
27
Try to make a profit dishonestly, and you get your family in trouble. Don't take bribes and you will live longer.
28
Good people think before they answer. Evil people have a quick reply, but it causes trouble.
29
When good people pray, the LORD listens, but he ignores those who are evil.
30
Smiling faces make you happy, and good news makes you feel better.
31
If you pay attention when you are corrected, you are wise.
32
If you refuse to learn, you are hurting yourself. If you accept correction, you will become wiser.
33
Reverence for the LORD is an education in itself. You must be humble before you can ever receive honors.
1
I ask, then: Did God reject his own people? Certainly not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
2
God has not rejected his people, whom he chose from the beginning. You know what the scripture says in the passage where Elijah pleads with God against Israel:
3
"Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me."
4
What answer did God give him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not worshiped the false god Baal."
5
It is the same way now: there is a small number left of those whom God has chosen because of his grace.
6
His choice is based on his grace, not on what they have done. For if God's choice were based on what people do, then his grace would not be real grace.
7
What then? The people of Israel did not find what they were looking for. It was only the small group that God chose who found it; the rest grew deaf to God's call.
8
As the scripture says, "God made their minds and hearts dull; to this very day they cannot see or hear."
9
And David says, "May they be caught and trapped at their feasts; may they fall, may they be punished!
10
May their eyes be blinded so that they cannot see; and make them bend under their troubles at all times."
11
I ask, then: When the Jews stumbled, did they fall to their ruin? By no means! Because they sinned, salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make the Jews jealous of them.
12
The sin of the Jews brought rich blessings to the world, and their spiritual poverty brought rich blessings to the Gentiles. Then, how much greater the blessings will be when the complete number of Jews is included!
13
I am speaking now to you Gentiles: As long as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I will take pride in my work.
14
Perhaps I can make the people of my own race jealous, and so be able to save some of them.
15
For when they were rejected, all other people were changed from God's enemies into his friends. What will it be, then, when they are accepted? It will be life for the dead!
16
If the first piece of bread is given to God, then the whole loaf is his also; and if the roots of a tree are offered to God, the branches are his also.
17
Some of the branches of the cultivated olive tree have been broken off, and a branch of a wild olive tree has been joined to it. You Gentiles are like that wild olive tree, and now you share the strong spiritual life of the Jews.
18
So then, you must not despise those who were broken off like branches. How can you be proud? You are just a branch; you don't support the roots---the roots support you.
19
But you will say, "Yes, but the branches were broken off to make room for me."
20
That is true. They were broken off because they did not believe, while you remain in place because you do believe. But do not be proud of it; instead, be afraid.
21
God did not spare the Jews, who are like natural branches; do you think he will spare you?
22
Here we see how kind and how severe God is. He is severe toward those who have fallen, but kind to you---if you continue in his kindness. But if you do not, you too will be broken off.
23
And if the Jews abandon their unbelief, they will be put back in the place where they were; for God is able to do that.
24
You Gentiles are like the branch of a wild olive tree that is broken off and then, contrary to nature, is joined to a cultivated olive tree. The Jews are like this cultivated tree; and it will be much easier for God to join these broken-off branches to their own tree again.
25
There is a secret truth, my friends, which I want you to know, for it will keep you from thinking how wise you are. It is that the stubbornness of the people of Israel is not permanent, but will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to God.
26
And this is how all Israel will be saved. As the scripture says, "The Savior will come from Zion and remove all wickedness from the descendants of Jacob.
27
I will make this covenant with them when I take away their sins."
28
Because they reject the Good News, the Jews are God's enemies for the sake of you Gentiles. But because of God's choice, they are his friends because of their ancestors.
29
For God does not change his mind about whom he chooses and blesses.
30
As for you Gentiles, you disobeyed God in the past; but now you have received God's mercy because the Jews were disobedient.
31
In the same way, because of the mercy that you have received, the Jews now disobey God, in order that they also may now receive God's mercy.
32
For God has made all people prisoners of disobedience, so that he might show mercy to them all.
33
How great are God's riches! How deep are his wisdom and knowledge! Who can explain his decisions? Who can understand his ways?
34
As the scripture says, "Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give him advice?
35
Who has ever given him anything, so that he had to pay it back?"
36
For all things were created by him, and all things exist through him and for him. To God be the glory forever! Amen.
