Proverbs 13 (NASB2020)
Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked
1A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
2From the fruit of a person’s mouth he 13:2 Lit eatsenjoys good,
But the 13:2 Lit souldesire of the treacherous is violence.
3One who guards his mouth protects his life;
One who opens wide his lips 13:3 Lit ruin is hiscomes to ruin.
4The soul of the 13:4 Lit idlelazy one craves and gets nothing,
But the soul of the diligent is made 13:4 Lit fatprosperous.
5A righteous person hates a false statement,
But a wicked person 13:5 Lit causes a bad odor and causes shameacts disgustingly and shamefully.
6Righteousness guards the 13:6 Lit blamelessness of wayone whose way is blameless,
But wickedness brings the 13:6 Lit sinsinner to ruin.
7There is one who pretends to be rich but has nothing;
Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.
8The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth,
But the poor hears no rebuke.
9The light of the righteous 13:9 I.e., shines brightlyrejoices,
But the lamp of the wicked goes out.
10Through overconfidence 13:10 Lit givescomes nothing but strife,
But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.
11Wealth obtained from 13:11 Prob. referring to fraudnothing dwindles,
But one who gathers 13:11 Lit by handby labor increases it.
12Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But desire 13:12 Lit comingfulfilled is a tree of life.
13One who despises the word will do badly,
But one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
14The 13:14 Or lawteaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn aside from the snares of death.
15Good understanding produces favor,
But the way of the treacherous is 13:15 Cf. LXX in destruction; MT constanttheir own disaster.
16Every prudent person acts with knowledge,
But a fool 13:16 Lit spreads outdisplays foolishness.
17A wicked messenger falls into adversity,
But a faithful messenger brings healing.
18Poverty and shame will come to one who neglects 13:18 Or instructiondiscipline,
But one who complies with rebuke will be honored.
19Desire realized is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.
20One who walks with wise people will be wise,
But a companion of fools will suffer harm.
21Adversity pursues sinners,
But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.
22A good person leaves an inheritance to his 13:22 Lit sons’ sonsgrandchildren,
And the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.
23Abundant food is in the uncultivated ground of the poor,
But 13:23 Lit there is what is sweptit is swept away by injustice.
24He who withholds his 13:24 I.e., correction or disciplinerod hates his son,
But he who loves him 13:24 Lit seeks him diligently with disciplinedisciplines him diligently.
25The righteous 13:25 Lit eats to the satisfaction of his soulhas enough to satisfy his appetite,
But the stomach of the wicked is in need.
Understand Proverbs 13
A verse-by-verse study of Proverbs 13: what the chapter is doing, and what three commentaries say about it. Written to be readable if this is new to you.
Read the Proverbs 13 commentary