Proverbs 18
Literal Standard Version
Chapter overview
Isolation and hasty answers resist understanding, while deep words and attentive listening can nourish wisdom. Speech carries life and death, the Lord is a secure refuge, and a truly loyal friend can remain closer than family.
ListeningSpeechRefugeFriendship
1He who is separated seeks [his own] desire, || He interferes with all wisdom.
2A fool does not delight in understanding, || But in uncovering his heart.
3Contempt has also come with the coming of the wicked, || And with shame—reproach.
4The words of a man’s mouth [are] deep waters, || The fountain of wisdom [is] a flowing brook.
5Favoring of the face of the wicked [is] not good, || To turn aside the righteous in judgment.
6The lips of a fool enter into strife, || And his mouth calls for stripes.
7The mouth of a fool [is] ruin to him, || And his lips [are] the snare of his soul.
8The words of a tale-bearer [are] as self-inflicted wounds, || And they have gone down [to] the inner parts of the heart.
9He also that is remiss in his work, || He [is] a brother to a destroyer.
10The Name of YHWH [is] a tower of strength, || The righteous runs into it, and is set on high.
11The wealth of the rich [is] the city of his strength, || And as a wall set on high in his own imagination.
12The heart of man is high before destruction, || And humility [is] before honor.
13Whoever is answering a matter before he hears, || It is folly to him—and shame.
14The spirit of a man sustains his sickness, || And who bears a struck spirit?
15The heart of the intelligent gets knowledge, || And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16The gift of a man makes room for him, || And it leads him before the great.
17The first in his own cause [seems] righteous, || [But] his neighbor comes and has searched him.
18The lot causes contentions to cease, || And it separates between the mighty.
19A brother transgressed against is as a strong city, || And contentions as the bar of a palace.
20From the fruit of a man’s mouth is his belly satisfied, || [From the] increase of his lips he is satisfied.
21Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue, || And those loving it eat its fruit.
22[Whoever] has found a wife has found good, || And brings out goodwill from YHWH.
23The poor speaks [with] supplications, || And the rich answers fierce things.
24A man with friends—to show himself friendly, || And there is a lover adhering more than a brother!
Verses to memorize from Proverbs 18
- Proverbs 18:10The Name of YHWH [is] a tower of strength, || The righteous runs into…
- Proverbs 18:22[Whoever] has found a wife has found good, || And brings out goodwill…
- Proverbs 18:24A man with friends—to show himself friendly, || And there is a lover…
Literal Standard Version — CC BY-SA 4.0. Where these translations come from.
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