Chapter 22: A Good Name

Proverbs, Chapter 22

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold. (Everyone knows that people love to believe lies and the bad stuff. It is the bad that people remember. We must give them NOTHING to talk about. Your actions stick to your name, and your name is the most important thing you have.)

The rich and the poor have this in common: the LORD is the maker of them all.

A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.

By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life.

Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards his soul will be far from them. (Be careful which road you choose.)

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

The rich rules over the poor; and the borrower is servant to the lender. (When you borrow money, you are basically a slave until it is repaid.)

He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, and the rod of his anger will fail.

He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor. (It is always good to give. Don't miss opportunities to give. You will be blessed.)

Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; yes, strife and reproach will cease. (Find the source of trouble and get rid of it.)

He who loves purity of heart and has grace upon his lips, the king will be his friend.

The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, but He overthrows the words of the faithless.

The lazy man says, "There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!"

The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; he who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there.

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him.

He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, and he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty. (Do not take from the poor. You WILL NOT be blessed for it. You will only end up with less.)

Incline you ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge; for it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; let them all be fixed upon your lips so that your trust may be in the LORD; I have instructed you today, even you. Have I not written to you excellent things of counsel and knowledge, that you may answer words of truth to those who send to you?

Do you rob the poor because he is poor, nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; for the LORD will plead their cause and plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

Make no friends with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul. (Attitudes are contagious.)

Do not be one of those who shakes hand in pledge, one of those who is surety for debts; if you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you?

Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set. (Those before us have paid their dues and paved the way for us. Honor them and their legacy.)

Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men.