Proverbs 11 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 The Lord hates dishonest scales, but accurate weights please him.
1 A false balance is an abomination to Yahweh, but accurate weights are his delight.
2 With pride comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
2 When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility comes wisdom.
3 Honesty guides the good, but deceit destroys liars.
3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
4 Wealth won't help you on judgment day, but goodness saves you from death.
4 Riches don’t profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
5 The goodness of the innocent keeps them on track, but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.
5 The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
6 The goodness of those who live right will save them, but the dishonest are trapped by their own desires.
6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them, but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil desires.
7 When a wicked person dies, their hopes die with them; what the godless look forward to is gone.
7 When a wicked man dies, hope perishes, and expectation of power comes to nothing.
8 The good are saved from trouble, while the wicked get into trouble.
8 A righteous person is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked takes his place.
9 Godless people mouth off and destroy their neighbors, but the good are saved by wisdom.
9 With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but the righteous will be delivered through knowledge.
10 The whole town celebrates when good people are successful; they also shout for joy when the wicked die.
10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.
11 Ethical people are a blessing to a town, but what the wicked say destroys it.
11 By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12 People who run down their neighbors have no sense; someone who's sensible keeps quiet.
12 One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding holds his peace.
13 A gossip goes around telling secrets, but trustworthy people keep confidences.
13 One who brings gossip betrays a confidence, but one who is of a trustworthy spirit is one who keeps a secret.
14 A nation falls without good guidance, but they are saved through much wise counsel.
14 Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.
15 You'll get into trouble if you guarantee a stranger's loans—you're far safer if you refuse to make such pledges.
15 He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure.
16 A gracious woman holds on to her honor just as ruthless men hold on to their wealth.
16 A gracious woman obtains honor, but violent men obtain riches.
17 If you're kind, you'll be rewarded; but if you're cruel, you'll hurt yourself.
17 The merciful man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
18 The wicked earn wages that cheat them, but those who sow goodness reap a genuine reward.
18 Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
19 Do what's right, and you will live; chase after evil and you will die.
19 He who is truly righteous gets life. He who pursues evil gets death.
20 The Lord hates perverted minds, but is happy with those who live moral lives.
20 Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination to Yahweh, but those whose ways are blameless are his delight.
21 You can be certain of this: the wicked won't go unpunished, but the good will be saved.
21 Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.
22 A beautiful woman who lacks good judgment is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.
22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
23 Good people want what's best, but what the wicked hope for ends in death.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24 If you give generously you receive more, but if you keep back what you should give, you end up poor.
24 There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.
25 If you're generous, you'll become rich; give someone a drink of water, and you'll be given one in return.
25 The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.
26 People curse those who hoard grain; but they bless those who sell.
26 People curse someone who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
27 If you look to do good, you'll be appreciated; but if you look for evil, you'll find it!
27 He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come to him.
28 If you trust in your riches, you'll fall; but if you do good, you'll flourish like green leaves.
28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.
29 If you cause trouble in your family, you'll inherit nothing but air. Stupid people end up as servants to those who think wisely.
29 He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
30 The fruit of the good is a tree of life, and the wise person saves people.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.
31 If the good are repaid here on earth, how much more will the wicked who sin be repaid!
31 Behold, the righteous shall be repaid on the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!
Cross references (31)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Deuteronomy 25:13–16; Proverbs 20:23; Proverbs 16:11; Leviticus 19:35–36; Proverbs 20:10
- 2 Proverbs 29:23; Proverbs 16:18–19; Proverbs 15:33; Luke 18:14; Proverbs 18:12
- 3 Proverbs 28:18; Proverbs 13:6; Psalm 25:21; Psalm 26:1; Proverbs 19:3
- 4 Zephaniah 1:18; Proverbs 10:2; Genesis 7:1; Ezekiel 7:19; 1 Timothy 4:8
- 5 Proverbs 5:22; Psalm 9:15–16; Proverbs 3:6; Esther 7:3–10; Proverbs 1:31–32
- 6 Ecclesiastes 10:8; 1 Kings 2:44; 1 Samuel 12:3–4; Psalm 7:15–16; Proverbs 5:22
- 7 Proverbs 10:28; Job 8:13–14; Job 11:20; Exodus 15:9–10; Psalm 146:4
- 8 Daniel 6:23–24; Proverbs 21:18; Esther 7:9–10; Isaiah 43:3–4
- 9 Proverbs 2:10–16; Proverbs 4:5–6; 1 John 2:27; 1 Timothy 4:1–3; Psalm 55:20–21
- 10 Proverbs 28:12; Psalm 58:10–11; Esther 8:15–16; Proverbs 28:28; Judges 5:31
- 11 Proverbs 14:34; Proverbs 29:8; James 3:6; 2 Chronicles 32:20–22; Job 22:30
- 12 Proverbs 10:19; 1 Peter 2:23; Luke 16:14; Luke 18:9; Proverbs 14:21
- 13 Proverbs 20:19; Proverbs 25:9; Leviticus 19:16; 1 Timothy 5:13; Proverbs 26:20–22
- 14 Proverbs 24:6; Proverbs 15:22; Proverbs 20:18; Proverbs 16:22; 1 Kings 12:1–19
- 15 Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 6:1–5; Proverbs 20:16; Proverbs 22:26–27
- 16 Proverbs 31:30–31; Luke 10:42; Acts 16:14–15; 1 Samuel 25:32–33; Acts 9:39
- 17 Matthew 5:7; James 2:13; Matthew 25:34–40; James 5:1–5; Daniel 4:27
- 18 Galatians 6:8–9; Ecclesiastes 10:8; Hosea 10:12–13; James 3:18; Psalm 126:5–6
- 19 Proverbs 10:16; Romans 2:8–9; Proverbs 12:28; Proverbs 19:23; Proverbs 7:22–23
- 20 Psalm 119:1; Psalm 140:13; 1 Chronicles 29:17; Proverbs 21:29; Proverbs 6:14
- 21 Psalm 112:1–2; Acts 2:39; Jeremiah 32:39; Psalm 37:26; Proverbs 16:5
- 22 1 Peter 3:3–4; Proverbs 31:30; Nahum 3:4–6; Proverbs 7:10; 2 Peter 2:22
- 23 Matthew 5:6; Psalm 37:4; Romans 2:8–9; Jeremiah 17:16; Psalm 10:17
- 24 Proverbs 19:17; Luke 6:38; Deuteronomy 15:10; Psalm 112:9; Ecclesiastes 11:6
- 25 Matthew 5:7; 2 Corinthians 9:6–9; Isaiah 58:7–11; Matthew 25:34–35; Isaiah 32:8
- 26 Job 29:13; Genesis 42:6; Amos 8:4–6; Proverbs 24:24
- 27 Psalm 7:15–16; Proverbs 17:11; Esther 7:10; Psalm 57:6; Psalm 9:15–16
- 28 1 Timothy 6:17; Jeremiah 17:8; Psalm 52:7–8; Psalm 1:3; Psalm 92:12–14
- 29 Ecclesiastes 5:16; Proverbs 14:19; Proverbs 15:27; Habakkuk 2:9–10; 1 Samuel 25:17
- 30 Daniel 12:3; James 5:20; 1 Corinthians 9:19–23; Proverbs 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 2:19
- 31 1 Peter 4:17–18; Jeremiah 25:29; 1 Corinthians 11:30–32; Proverbs 13:21; 2 Samuel 12:9–12
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… To which he added this testimony: "For if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?" How then shall the wicked be with Thee, if Thou dost not even spare Thy faithful, in order that Thou mayest exercise and teach them? But as He spareth them not, for this reason, that He may teach them: he …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)