Proverbs of Solomon 16 — The Holy Bible

Humility, Discernment, and Righteousness

All the works of the humble are evident before the Lord,

But the ungodly will be destroyed in the evil day.

Every high-hearted man is unclean before the Lord,

And he who joins hands with the unrighteous will not go unpunished.

The beginning of a good way is to do righteous things,

And this is more acceptable to God than to offer sacrifices.

He who seeks the Lord will find knowledge with righteousness,

And those who seek Him rightly will find peace.

All the works of the Lord are with righteousness,

But the ungodly man is kept for an evil day.

There is an oracle on the lips of a king,

And his mouth does not err in judgment.

The weight of a scale is righteousness before the Lord,

For His works are righteous standards.

He who does evil things is an abomination to a king,

For the throne of a ruler is prepared with righteousness.

Righteous lips are acceptable to a king,

And he loves upright words.

The wrath of a king is a messenger of death,

But a wise man will appease him.

The son of a king is in the light of life,

And those acceptable to him are as a cloud of the latter rain.

The abodes of wisdom are more to be chosen than gold,

And the abodes of discernment are more to be chosen than silver.

The paths of life turn away from evil,

And the ways of righteousness are length of life;

He who receives instruction shall be in good things,

And he who heeds rebukes shall become wise;

He who guards his own ways shall keep his own soul,

And he who loves his life shall use his mouth sparingly.

Arrogance goes before destruction

And folly before a fall.

A gentle mind with humility is better

Than he who divides spoils with the arrogant.

A man wise in his deeds is a discoverer of good things,

But he who trusts in God is the most blessed.

Men call the wise and understanding worthless,

But those pleasing in speech will increase in understanding.

Understanding is a fountain of life to those who possess it,

But the instruction of those without discernment is evil.

The heart of a wise man shall understand the things from his own mouth,

And he shall carry knowledge upon his lips.

Good words are a honeycomb,

And their sweetness is a healing of the soul.

There are ways that seem right to a man;

However, their ends look to the depths of Hades.

A man labors diligently for himself

And expels destruction from himself;

However, a perverse man carries destruction on his lips.

A man without discernment digs up evil things for himself

And stores up fire on his own lips.

A perverse man spreads evil things,

And a torch of deceit kindles evils and separates friends.

A lawless man makes a trial of friends

And leads them in ways not good.

A man sets his eyes to calculate perverse things

And determines every evil thing with his lips;

This man is a furnace of wickedness.

Old age is a crown of dignity,

But it is found in the ways of righteousness.

A patient man is better than a strong man,

And he who controls his temper is better than he who captures a city.

All evil things come into the bosoms of the unrighteous,

But all righteous things come from the Lord.