Proverbs · King James Version (with Apocrypha)
Proverbs 22 King James Version (with Apocrypha)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, [and] loving favour rather than silver and gold.
1 A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD [is] the maker of them all.
2 The rich and the poor have this in common: Yahweh is the maker of them all.
3 A prudent [man] foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
3 A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
4 By humility [and] the fear of the LORD [are] riches, and honour, and life.
4 The result of humility and the fear of Yahweh is wealth, honor, and life.
5 Thorns [and] snares [are] in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
5 Thorns and snares are in the path of the wicked; whoever guards his soul stays far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower [is] servant to the lender.
7 The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
8 He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
9 He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
10 Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop.
11 He that loveth pureness of heart, [for] the grace of his lips the king [shall be] his friend.
11 He who loves purity of heart and speaks gracefully is the king’s friend.
12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
12 Yahweh’s eyes watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.
13 The slothful [man] saith, [There is] a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of strange women [is] a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit. He who is under Yahweh’s wrath will fall into it.
15 Foolishness [is] bound in the heart of a child; [but] the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his [riches, and] he that giveth to the rich, [shall] surely [come] to want.
16 Whoever oppresses the poor for his own increase and whoever gives to the rich, both come to poverty.
17 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
17 Turn your ear, and listen to the words of the wise. Apply your heart to my teaching.
18 For [it is] a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.
19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
19 I teach you today, even you, so that your trust may be in Yahweh.
20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
20 Haven’t I written to you thirty excellent things of counsel and knowledge,
21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
21 To teach you truth, reliable words, to give sound answers to the ones who sent you?
22 Rob not the poor, because he [is] poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
22 Don’t exploit the poor because he is poor; and don’t crush the needy in court;
23 For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
23 for Yahweh will plead their case, and plunder the life of those who plunder them.
24 Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
24 Don’t befriend a hot-tempered man. Don’t associate with one who harbors anger,
25 Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
25 lest you learn his ways and ensnare your soul.
26 Be not thou [one] of them that strike hands, [or] of them that are sureties for debts.
26 Don’t you be one of those who strike hands, of those who are collateral for debts.
27 If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
27 If you don’t have means to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you?
28 Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
28 Don’t move the ancient boundary stone which your fathers have set up.
29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean [men].
29 Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve kings. He won’t serve obscure men.
Cross references (29)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Ecclesiastes 7:1; Luke 10:20; 1 Kings 1:47
- 2 Job 31:15; 1 Samuel 2:7; Proverbs 14:31; Proverbs 29:13; Job 34:19
- 3 Proverbs 27:12; Proverbs 14:16; Proverbs 29:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:2–6; Hebrews 11:7
- 4 James 4:10; Matthew 6:33; Psalm 34:9–10; Proverbs 21:21; Psalm 112:1–3
- 5 Proverbs 16:17; Jude 20–21; 1 John 5:18; Proverbs 15:19; Psalm 18:26–27
- 6 Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6:7; 2 Timothy 3:15; Genesis 18:19; Deuteronomy 4:9
- 7 2 Kings 4:1; Matthew 18:25; Proverbs 22:16; Proverbs 18:23; Proverbs 14:31
- 8 Galatians 6:7–8; Job 4:8; Isaiah 30:31; Psalm 125:3; Hosea 10:13
- 9 Proverbs 19:17; Hebrews 6:10; 1 Timothy 6:18–19; Acts 20:35; 1 Peter 4:9
- 10 1 Corinthians 5:5–6; Proverbs 26:20–21; 1 Corinthians 5:13; Psalm 101:5; Nehemiah 13:28
- 11 Matthew 5:8; Proverbs 16:13; Psalm 101:6; Proverbs 14:35; Psalm 45:2
- 12 2 Timothy 3:8–9; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Acts 13:8–12; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Job 5:12–13
- 13 Proverbs 26:13–16; Numbers 13:32–33; Proverbs 15:19
- 14 Ecclesiastes 7:26; Proverbs 23:27; Proverbs 6:24–29; Nehemiah 13:26; Proverbs 7:5–27
- 15 Proverbs 13:24; Proverbs 29:15; Proverbs 19:18; Proverbs 23:13–14; Hebrews 12:10–11
- 16 Proverbs 22:22–23; James 2:13; Psalm 12:5; James 5:1–5; Luke 14:12–14
- 17 Proverbs 23:12; Psalm 90:12; Ecclesiastes 7:25; Proverbs 3:1; Proverbs 2:2–5
- 18 Jeremiah 15:16; Proverbs 2:10; Proverbs 8:6; Psalm 119:103; Proverbs 15:7
- 19 Psalm 62:8; Isaiah 12:2; Proverbs 3:5; Isaiah 26:4; 1 Peter 1:21
- 20 2 Peter 1:19–21; Proverbs 8:6; 2 Timothy 3:15–17; Psalm 12:6; Hosea 8:12
- 21 Luke 1:3–4; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 John 5:13; John 20:31
- 22 Zechariah 7:10; Malachi 3:5; Exodus 23:6; Proverbs 22:16; Job 31:21
- 23 Psalm 140:12; Psalm 12:5; Jeremiah 51:36; Proverbs 23:11; 1 Samuel 25:39
- 24 Proverbs 29:22; 2 Corinthians 6:14–17; Proverbs 21:24
- 25 1 Corinthians 15:33; Psalm 106:35; Proverbs 13:20
- 26 Proverbs 11:15; Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 6:1–5; Proverbs 27:13
- 27 Proverbs 20:16; 2 Kings 4:1; Exodus 22:26–27
- 28 Deuteronomy 19:14; Deuteronomy 27:17; Proverbs 23:10; Job 24:2
- 29 1 Kings 11:28; Matthew 25:21; Proverbs 12:24; Proverbs 10:4; Matthew 25:23
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).
Scripture says, "The rich and the poor meet together, the Lord is the Maker of them both." The rich and the poor meet together.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
Because we incessantly move the ancient landmarks which our fathers have set. We encroach, we add house to house, field to field, to enrich ourselves at the expense of our neighbour.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)