1 Wise son, glad father;
stupid son, sad mother.
2 Ill-gotten gain gets you nowhere;
an honest life is immortal.
3 GOD won’t starve an honest soul,
but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked.
4 Sloth makes you poor;
diligence brings wealth.
5 Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart;
go fishing during harvest—that’s stupid.
6 Blessings accrue on a good and honest life,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
7 A good and honest life is a blessed memorial;
a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.
8 A wise heart takes orders;
an empty head will come unglued.
9 Honesty lives confident and carefree,
but Shifty is sure to be exposed.
10 An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead,
but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace.
11 The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
12 Hatred starts fights,
but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.
13 You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight,
but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.
14 The wise accumulate knowledge—a true treasure;
know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste.
15 The wealth of the rich is their security;
the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.
16 The wage of a good person is exuberant life;
an evil person ends up with nothing but sin.
17 The road to life is a disciplined life;
ignore correction and you’re lost for good.
18 Liars secretly hoard hatred;
fools openly spread slander.
19 The more talk, the less truth;
the wise measure their words.
20 The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;
the blabber of the wicked is worthless.
21 The talk of a good person is rich fare for many,
but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.
22 GOD’s blessing makes life rich;
nothing we do can improve on God.
23 An empty-head thinks mischief is fun,
but a mindful person relishes wisdom.
24 The nightmares of the wicked come true;
what the good people desire, they get.
25 When the storm is over, there’s nothing left of the wicked;
good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren’t even fazed.
26 A lazy employee will give you nothing but trouble;
it’s vinegar in the mouth, smoke in the eyes.
27 The Fear-of- GOD expands your life;
a wicked life is a puny life.
28 The aspirations of good people end in celebration;
the ambitions of bad people crash.
29 GOD is solid backing to a well-lived life,
but he calls into question a shabby performance.
30 Good people last —they can’t be moved;
the wicked are here today, gone tomorrow.
31 A good person’s mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom;
a foul mouth is a stagnant swamp.
32 The speech of a good person clears the air;
the words of the wicked pollute it.
(MSG) THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers. Click here for more copyright information.