Category Archives: Proverbs

God Examines Our Motives 1 Good leadership is a channel of water controlled byGod; he directs it to whatever ends he chooses. 2 We justify our actions by appearances; Godexamines our motives. 3 Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more toGodthan religious performance. 4 Arrogance and pride—distinguishing marks in the […]

The Cure Comes Through Discipline 1 A sterling reputation is better than striking it rich; a gracious spirit is better than money in the bank. 2 The rich and the poor shake hands as equals— Godmade them both! 3 A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered. […]

Restrain Yourself 6 1-3 When you go out to dinner with an influential person, mind your manners: Don’t gobble your food, don’t talk with your mouth full. And don’t stuff yourself; bridle your appetite. 7 4-5 Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; restrain yourself! Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth […]

Intelligence Outranks Muscle 19 1-2 Don’t envy bad people; don’t even want to be around them. All they think about is causing a disturbance; all they talk about is making trouble. 20 3-4 It takes wisdom to build a house, and understanding to set it on a firm foundation; It takes knowledge to furnish its […]

The Right Word at the Right Time 1 There are also these proverbs of Solomon, collected by scribes of Hezekiah, king of Judah. 2 God delights in concealing things; scientists delight in discovering things. 3 Like the horizons for breadth and the ocean for depth, the understanding of a good leader is broad and deep. […]

Fools Recycle Silliness 1 We no more give honors to fools than pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest. 2 You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse as from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow. 3 A whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the […]

You Don’t Know Tomorrow 1 Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. 2 Don’t call attention to yourself; let others do that for you. 3 Carrying a log across your shoulders while you’re hefting a boulder with your arms Is nothing compared to the burden […]

If You Desert God’s Law 1 The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off even when no one’s after them; Honest people are relaxed and confident, bold as lions. 2 When the country is in chaos, everybody has a plan to fix it— But it takes a leader of real understanding to straighten […]

If People Can’t See What God Is Doing 1 For people who hate discipline and only get more stubborn, There’ll come a day when life tumbles in and they break, but by then it’ll be too late to help them. 2 When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the ruler is bad, […]

God? Who Needs Him? 1-2 The skeptic swore, “There is no God! No God!—I can do anything I want! I’m more animal than human; so-called human intelligence escapes me. 3-4 “I flunked ‘wisdom.’ I see no evidence of a holy God. Has anyone ever seen Anyone climb into Heaven and take charge? grab the winds […]