Passage

Proverbs 19

Book: Proverbs · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity Than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool. 2. Also, that the soul be without knowledge is not good; And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth. 3. The foolishness of man subverteth his way; And his heart fretteth against Jehovah. 4. Wealth addeth many friends; But the poor is separated from his friend. 5. A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that uttereth lies shall not escape. 6. Many will entreat the favor of the liberal man; And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. 7. All the brethren of the poor do hate him: How much more do his friends go far from him! He pursueth them with words, but they are gone. 8. He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: He that keepeth understanding shall find good. 9. A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that uttereth lies shall perish. 10. Delicate living is not seemly for a fool; Much less for a servant to have rule over princes. 11. The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression. 12. The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; But his favor is as dew upon the grass. 13. A foolish son is the calamity of his father; And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. 14. House and riches are an inheritance from fathers; But a prudent wife is from Jehovah. 15. Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And the idle soul shall suffer hunger. 16. He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul; But he that is careless of his ways shall die. 17. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah, And his good deed will he pay him again. 18. Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope; And set not thy heart on his destruction. 19. A man of great wrath shall bear the penalty; For if thou deliver him, thou must do it yet again. 20. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. 21. There are many devices in a man's heart; But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand. 22. That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness; And a poor man is better than a liar. 23. The fear of Jehovah tendeth to life; And he that hath it shall abide satisfied; He shall not be visited with evil. 24. The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. 25. Smite a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge. 26. He that doeth violence to his father, and chaseth away his mother, Is a son that causeth shame and bringeth reproach. 27. Cease, my son, to hear instruction Only to err from the words of knowledge. 28. A worthless witness mocketh at justice; And the mouth of the wicked swalloweth iniquity. 29. Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And stripes for the back of fools." (Proverbs 19:1-29, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in his lips and is a fool. 2. It isn’t good to have zeal without knowledge; nor being hasty with one’s feet and missing the way. 3. The foolishness of man subverts his way; his heart rages against Yahweh. 4. Wealth adds many friends, but the poor is separated from his friend. 5. A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who pours out lies shall not go free. 6. Many will entreat the favor of a ruler, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts. 7. All the relatives of the poor shun him: how much more do his friends avoid him! He pursues them with pleas, but they are gone. 8. He who gets wisdom loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding shall find good. 9. A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish. 10. Delicate living is not appropriate for a fool, much less for a servant to have rule over princes. 11. The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger. It is his glory to overlook an offense. 12. The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. 13. A foolish son is the calamity of his father. A wife’s quarrels are a continual dripping. 14. House and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from Yahweh. 15. Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep. The idle soul shall suffer hunger. 16. He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is contemptuous in his ways shall die. 17. He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh; he will reward him. 18. Discipline your son, for there is hope; don’t be a willing party to his death. 19. A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty, for if you rescue him, you must do it again. 20. Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter end. 21. There are many plans in a man’s heart, but Yahweh’s counsel will prevail. 22. That which makes a man to be desired is his kindness. A poor man is better than a liar. 23. The fear of Yahweh leads to life, then contentment; he rests and will not be touched by trouble. 24. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. 25. Flog a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke one who has understanding, and he will gain knowledge. 26. He who robs his father and drives away his mother, is a son who causes shame and brings reproach. 27. If you stop listening to instruction, my son, you will stray from the words of knowledge. 28. A corrupt witness mocks justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down iniquity. 29. Penalties are prepared for scoffers, and beatings for the backs of fools." (Proverbs 19:1-29, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. 2. Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth. 3. The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD. 4. Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour. 5. A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. ^{unpunished: Heb. held innocent} 6. Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. ^{him: Heb. a man of gifts} 7. All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him. 8. He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good. ^{wisdom: Heb. an heart} 9. A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish. 10. Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes. 11. The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. ^{discretion: or, prudence} 12. The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass. 13. A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. 14. House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD. 15. Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger. 16. He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die. 17. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. ^{that which: or, his deed} 18. Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. ^{for: or, to his destruction: or, to cause him to die} 19. A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. ^{do: Heb. add} 20. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. 21. There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand. 22. The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar. 23. The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. 24. A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. 25. Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge. ^{will beware: Heb. will be cunning} 26. He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach. 27. Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge. 28. An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity. ^{An: Heb. A witness of Belial} 29. Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools." (Proverbs 19:1-29, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Better [is] the poor walking in his integrity, Than the perverse [in] his lips, who [is] a fool. 2. Also, without knowledge the soul [is] not good, And the hasty in feet is sinning. 3. The folly of man perverteth his way, And against Jehovah is his heart wroth. 4. Wealth addeth many friends, And the poor from his neighbour is separated. 5. A false witness is not acquitted, Whoso breatheth out lies is not delivered. 6. Many entreat the face of the noble, And all have made friendship to a man of gifts. 7. All the brethren of the poor have hated him, Surely also his friends have been far from him, He is pursuing words, they are not! 8. Whoso is getting heart is loving his soul, He is keeping understanding to find good. 9. A false witness is not acquitted, And whoso breatheth out lies perisheth. 10. Luxury is not comely for a fool, Much less for a servant to rule among princes. 11. The wisdom of a man hath deferred his anger, And his glory [is] to pass over transgression. 12. The wrath of a king [is] a growl as of a young lion, And as dew on the herb his good-will. 13. A calamity to his father [is] a foolish son, And the contentions of a wife [are] a continual dropping. 14. House and wealth [are] the inheritance of fathers, And from Jehovah [is] an understanding wife. 15. Sloth causeth deep sleep to fall, And an indolent soul doth hunger. 16. Whoso is keeping the command is keeping his soul, Whoso is despising His ways dieth. 17. Whoso is lending [to] Jehovah is favouring the poor, And his deed He repayeth to him. 18. Chastise thy son, for there is hope, And to put him to death lift not up thy soul. 19. A man of great wrath is bearing punishment, For, if thou dost deliver, yet again thou dost add. 20. Hear counsel and receive instruction, So that thou art wise in thy latter end. 21. Many [are] the purposes in a man's heart, And the counsel of Jehovah it standeth. 22. The desirableness of a man [is] his kindness, And better [is] the poor than a liar. 23. The fear of Jehovah [is] to life, And satisfied he remaineth, he is not charged with evil. 24. The slothful hath hidden his hand in a dish, Even unto his mouth he bringeth it not back. 25. A scorner smite, and the simple acts prudently, And give reproof to the intelligent, He understandeth knowledge. 26. Whoso is spoiling a father causeth a mother to flee, A son causing shame, and bringing confusion. 27. Cease, my son, to hear instruction, To err from sayings of knowledge. 28. A worthless witness scorneth judgment, And the mouth of the wicked swalloweth iniquity. 29. Judgments have been prepared for scorners, And stripes for the back of fools!" (Proverbs 19:1-29, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.