The Bible, Douay Rheims, Book 22: Proverbs
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17:25. A foolish son is the anger of the father: and the sorrow of the
mother that bore him.
17:26. It is no good thing to do hurt to the just: nor to strike the
prince, who judgeth right.
17:27. He that setteth bounds to his words, is knowing and wise: and the
man of understanding is of a precious spirit.
17:28. Even a fool, if he will hold his peace, shall be counted wise:
and if he close his lips, a man of understanding.
Proverbs Chapter 18
18:1. He that hath a mind to depart from a friend, seeketh occasions: he
shall ever be subject to reproach.
18:2. A fool receiveth not the words of prudence: unless thou say those
things which are in his heart.
18:3. The wicked man, when he is come into the depths of sins,
contemneth: but ignominy and reproach follow him.
18:4. Words from the mouth of a man are as deep water: and the fountain
of wisdom is an overflowing stream.
18:5. It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to decline from
the truth of judgment.
18:6. The lips of a fool intermeddle with strife: and his mouth
provoketh quarrels.
18:7. The mouth of a fool is his destruction: and his lips are the ruin
of his soul.
18:8. The words of the double tongued are as if they were harmless: and
they reach even to the inner parts of the bowels. Fear casteth down the
slothful: and the souls of the effeminate shall be hungry.
18:9. He that is loose and slack in his work, is the brother of him that
wasteth his own works.
18:10. The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the just runneth to it,
and shall be exalted.
18:11. The substance of the rich man is the city of his strength, and as
a strong wall compassing him about.
18:12. Before destruction, the heart of a man is exalted: and before he
be glorified, it is humbled.
18:13. He that answereth before he heareth, sheweth himself to be a
fool, and worthy of confusion.
18:14. The spirit of a man upholdeth his infirmity: but a spirit that is
easily angered, who can bear?
18:15. A wise heart shall acquire knowledge: and the ear of the wise
seeketh instruction.
18:16. A man's gift enlargeth his way, and maketh him room before
princes.
18:17. The just is first accuser of himself: his friend cometh, and
shall search him.
18:18. The lot suppresseth contentions, and determineth even between the
mighty.
18:19. A brother that is helped by his brother, is like a strong city:
and judgments are like the bars of cities.
18:20. Of the fruit of a man's mouth shall his belly be satisfied: and
the offspring of his lips shall fill him.
18:21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: they that love it,
shall eat the fruits thereof.
18:22. He that hath found a good wife, hath found a good thing, and
shall receive a pleasure from the Lord. He that driveth away a good
wife, driveth away a good thing: but he that keepeth an adulteress, is
foolish and wicked.
18:23. The poor will speak with supplications, and the rich will speak
roughly.
18:24. A man amiable in society, shall be more friendly than a brother.
Proverbs Chapter 19
19:1. Better is the poor man, that walketh in his simplicity, than a
rich man that is perverse in his lips and unwise.
19:2. Where there is no knowledge of the soul, there is no good: and he
that is hasty with his feet shall stumble.
19:3. The folly of a man supplanteth his steps: and he fretteth in his
mind against God.
19:4. Riches make many friends: but from the poor man, even they whom he
had, depart.
19:5. A false witness shall not be unpunished: and he that speaketh
lies, shall not escape.
19:6. Many honour the person of him that is mighty, and are friends of
him that giveth gifts.
19:7. The brethren of the poor man hate him: moreover also his friends
have departed far from him. He that followeth after words only, shall
have nothing.
19:8. But he that possesseth a mind, loveth his own soul, and he that
keepeth prudence, shall find good things.
19:9. A false witness shall not be unpunished: and he that speaketh
lies, shall perish.
19:10. Delicacies are not seemly for a fool: nor for a servant to have
rule over princes.
19:11. The learning of a man is known by patience: and his glory is to
pass over wrongs.
19:12. As the roaring of a lion, so also is the anger of a king: and his
cheerfulness as the dew upon the grass.
19:13. A foolish son is the grief of his father: and a wrangling wife is
like a roof continually dropping through.
19:14. House and riches are given by parents: but a prudent wife is
properly from the Lord.
19:15. Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep, and an idle soul shall
suffer hunger.
19:16. He that keepeth the commandment, keepeth his own soul: but he
that neglecteth his own way, shall die.
19:17. He that hath mercy on the poor, lendeth to the Lord: and he will
repay him.
19:18. Chastise thy son, despair not: but to the killing of him set not
thy soul.
19:19. He that is impatient, shall suffer damage: and when he shall take
away, he shall add another thing.
19:20. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayst be wise in
thy latter end.
19:21. There are many thoughts in the heart of a man: but the will of
the Lord shall stand firm.
19:22. A needy man is merciful: and better is the poor than the lying
man.
19:23. The fear of the Lord is unto life: and he shall abide in the
fulness without being visited with evil.
19:24. The slothful hideth his hand under his armpit, and will not so
much as bring it to his mouth.
19:25. The wicked man being scourged, the fool shall be wiser: but if
thou rebuke a wise man, he will understand discipline.
19:26. He that afflicteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is
infamous and unhappy.
19:27. Cease not, O my son, to hear instruction, and be not ignorant of
the words of knowledge.
19:28. An unjust witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked
devoureth iniquity.
19:29. Judgments are prepared for scorners: and striking hammers for the
bodies of fools.
Proverbs Chapter 20
20:1. Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness riotous: whosoever is
delighted therewith, shall not be wise.
20:2. As the roaring of a lion, so also is the dread of a king: he that
provoketh him, sinneth against his own soul.
20:3. It is an honour for a man to separate himself from quarrels: but
all fools are meddling with reproaches.
20:4. Because of the cold the sluggard would not plough: he shall beg
therefore in the summer, and it shall not be given him.
20:5. Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water: but a wise man
will draw it out.
20:6. Many men are called merciful: but who shall find a faithful man?
20:7. The just that walketh in his simplicity, shall leave behind him
blessed children.
20:8. The king, that sitteth on the throne of judgment, scattereth away
all evil with his look.
20:9. Who can say: My heart is clean, I am pure from sin?
20:10. Diverse weights and diverse measures, both are abominable before
God.
20:11. By his inclinations a child is known, if his works be clean and
right.
20:12. The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made them
both.
20:13. Love not sleep, lest poverty oppress thee: open thy eyes, and be
filled with bread.
20:14. It is naught, it is naught, saith every buyer: and when he is
gone away, then he will boast.
20:15. There is gold and a multitude of jewels: but the lips of
knowledge are a precious vessel.
20:16. Take away the garment of him that is surety for a stranger, and
take a pledge from him for strangers.
20:17. The bread of lying is sweet to a man: but afterwards his mouth
shall be filled with gravel.
20:18. Designs are strengthened by counsels: and wars are to be managed
by governments.
20:19. Meddle not with him that revealeth secrets, and walketh
deceitfully, and openeth wide his lips.
20:20. He that curseth his father, and mother, his lamp shall be put out
in the midst of darkness.
20:21. The inheritance gotten hastily in the beginning, in the end shall
be without a blessing.
20:22. Say not: I will return evil: wait for the Lord, and he will
deliver thee.
20:23. Diverse weights are an abomination before the Lord: a deceitful
balance is not good.
20:24. The steps of men are guided by the Lord: but who is the man that
can understand his own way?
20:25. It is ruin to a man to devour holy ones, and after vows to
retract.
20:26. A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth over them the
wheel.
20:27. The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, which searcheth all
the hidden things of the bowels.
20:28. Mercy and truth preserve the king, and his throne is strengthened
by clemency.
20:29. The joy of young men is their strength: and the dignity of old
men, their grey hairs.
20:30. The blueness of a wound shall wipe away evils: and stripes in the
more inward parts of the belly.
Proverbs Chapter 21
21:1. As the divisions of waters, so the heart of the king is in the
hand of the Lord: whithersoever he will, he shall turn it.
21:2. Every way of a man seemeth right to himself: but the Lord weigheth
the hearts.
21:3. To do mercy and judgment, pleaseth the Lord more than victims.
21:4. Haughtiness of the eyes is the enlarging of the heart: the lamp of
the wicked is sin.
21:5. The thoughts of the industrious always bring forth abundance: but
every sluggard is always in want.
21:6. He that gathereth treasures by a lying tongue, is vain and
foolish, and shall stumble upon the snares of death.
21:7. The robberies of the wicked shall be their downfall, because they
would not do judgment.
21:8. The perverse way of a man is strange: but as for him that is pure,
his work is right.
21:9. It is better to sit in a corner of the housetop, than with a
brawling woman, and in a common house.
21:10. The soul of the wicked desireth evil, he will not have pity on
his neighbour.
21:11. When a pestilent man is punished, the little one will be wiser:
and if he follow the wise, he will receive knowledge.
21:12. The just considereth seriously the house of the wicked, that he
may withdraw the wicked from evil.
21:13. He that stoppeth his ear against the cry of the poor, shall also
cry himself, and shall not be heard.
21:14. A secret present quencheth anger: and a gift in the bosom, the
greatest wrath.
21:15. It is joy to the just to do judgment: and dread to them that work
iniquity.
21:16. A man that shall wander out of the way of doctrine, shall abide
in the company of the giants.
21:17. He that loveth good cheer, shall be in want: he that loveth wine,
and fat things, shall not be rich.
21:18. The wicked is delivered up for the just: and the unjust for the
righteous.
21:19. It is better to dwell in a wilderness, than with a quarrelsome
and passionate woman.
21:20. There is a treasure to be desired, and oil in the dwelling of the
just: and the foolish man shall spend it.
21:21. He that followeth justice and mercy, shall find life, justice,
and glory.
21:22. The wise man hath scaled the city of the strong, and hath cast
down the strength of the confidence thereof.
21:23. He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from
distress.
21:24. The proud and the arrogant is called ignorant, who in anger
worketh pride.
21:25. Desires kill the slothful: for his hands have refused to work at
all.
21:26. He longeth and desireth all the day: but he that is just, will
give, and will not cease.
21:27. The sacrifices of the wicked are abominable, because they are
offered of wickedness.
21:28. A lying witness shall perish: an obedient man shall speak of
victory.
21:29. The wicked man impudently hardeneth his face: but he that is
righteous, correcteth his way.
21:30. There is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel
against the Lord.
21:31. The horse is prepared for the day of battle: but the Lord giveth
safety.
Proverbs Chapter 22
22:1. A good name is better than great riches: and good favour is above
silver and gold.
22:2. The rich and poor have met one another: the Lord is the maker of
them both.
22:3. The prudent man saw the evil, and hid himself: the simple passed
on, and suffered loss.
22:4. The fruit of humility is the fear of the Lord, riches and glory
and life.
22:5. Arms and swords are in the way of the perverse: but he that
keepeth his own soul, departeth far from them.
22:6. It is a proverb: A young man according to his way, even when he is
old, he will not depart from it.
22:7. The rich ruleth over the poor: and the borrower is servant to him
that lendeth.
22:8. He that soweth iniquity, shall reap evils, and with the rod of his
anger he shall be consumed.
22:9. He that is inclined to mercy, shall be blessed: for of his bread
he hath given to the poor. He that maketh presents, shall purchase
victory and honour: but he carrieth away the souls of the receivers.
22:10. Cast out the scoffer, and contention shall go out with him, and
quarrels and reproaches shall cease.
22:11. He that loveth cleanness of heart, for the grace of his lips
shall have the king for his friend.
22:12. The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge: and the words of the
unjust are overthrown.
22:13. The slothful man saith: There is a lion without, I shall be slain
in the midst of the streets.
22:14. The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit: he whom the Lord is
angry with, shall fall into it.
22:15. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of
correction shall drive it away.
22:16. He that oppresseth the poor, to increase his own riches, shall
himself give to one that is richer, and shall be in need.
22:17. Incline thy ear, and hear the words of the wise: and apply thy
heart to my doctrine:
22:18. Which shall be beautiful for thee, if thou keep it in thy bowels,
and it shall flow in thy lips:
22:19. That thy trust may be in the Lord, wherefore I have also shewn it
to thee this day.
22:20. Behold I have described it to thee three manner of ways, in
thoughts and knowledge:
22:21. That I might shew thee the certainty, and the words of truth, to
answer out of these to them that sent thee.
22:22. Do no violence to the poor, because he is poor: and do not
oppress the needy in the gate:
22:23. Because the Lord will judge his cause: and will afflict them that
have afflicted his soul.
22:24. Be not a friend to an angry man, and do not walk with a furious
man:
22:25. Lest perhaps thou learn his ways, and take scandal to thy soul.
22:26. Be not with them that fasten down their hands, and that offer
themselves sureties for debts:
22:27. For if thou have not wherewith to restore, what cause is there
that he should take the covering from thy bed?
22:28. Pass not beyond the ancient bounds which thy fathers have set.
22:29. Hast thou seen a man swift in his work? he shall stand before
kings, and shall not be before those that are obscure.
Proverbs Chapter 23
23:1. When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what
is set before thy face:
23:2. And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul
in thy own power.
23:3. Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
23:4. Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
23:5. Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because
they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly
towards heaven.
23:6. Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
23:7. Because, like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he
knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not
with thee.
23:8. The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt
lose thy beantiful words.
23:9. Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the
instruction of thy speech.
23:10. Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field
of the fatherless:
23:11. For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause
against thee.
23:12. Let thy heart apply itself to instruction and thy ears to words
of knowledge.
23:13. Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with
the rod, he shall not die.
23:14. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell.
23:15. My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
23:16. And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is
right.
23:17. Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the
Lord all the day long:
23:18. Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy
expectation shall not be taken away.
23:19. Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
23:20. Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings,
who contribute flesh to eat:
23:21. Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club
together, shall be consumed: and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
23:22. Hearken to thy father, that begot thee: and despise not thy
mother when she is old.
23:23. Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and
understanding.
23:24. The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a
wise son, shall have joy in him.
23:25. Let thy father and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that
bore thee.
23:26. My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
23:27. For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow
pit.
23:28. She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall
see unwary, she will kill.
23:29. Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who
falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of
eyes?
23:30. Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink off
their cups.
23:31. Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof
shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,
23:32. But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad
poison like a basilisk.
23:33. Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter
perverse things.
23:34. And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as
a pilot fast asleep when the stern is lost.
23:35. And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible
of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake and find wine
again?
Proverbs Chapter 24
24:1. Seek not to be like evil men, neither desire to be with them:
24:2. Because their mind studieth robberies, and their lips speak
deceits.
24:3. By wisdom the house shall be built, and by prudence it shall be
strengthened.
24:4. By instruction the storerooms shall be filled with all precious
and most beautiful wealth.
24:5. A wise man is strong: and a knowing man, stout and valiant.
24:6. Because war is managed by due ordering: and there shall be safety
where there are many counsels.
24:7. Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he shall not open his
mouth.
24:8. He that deviseth to do evils, shall be called a fool.
24:9. The thought of a fool is sin: and the detractor is the abomination
of men.
24:10. If thou lose hope, being weary in the day of distress, thy
strength shall be diminished.
24:11. Deliver them that are led to death: and those that are drawn to
death, forbear not to deliver.
24:12. If thou say: I have not strength enough: he that seeth into the
heart, he understandeth, and nothing deceiveth the keeper of thy soul,
and he shall render to a man according to his works.
24:13. Eat honey, my son, because it is good, and the honeycomb most
sweet to thy throat.
24:14. So also is the doctrine of wisdom to thy soul: which when thou
hast found, thou shalt have hope in the end, and thy hope shall not
perish.
24:15. Lie not in wait, nor seek after wickedness in the house of the
just, nor spoil his rest.
24:16. For a just man shall fall seven times, and shall rise again: but
the wicked shall fall down into evil.
24:17. When thy enemy shall fall, be not glad, and in his ruin let not
thy heart rejoice:
24:18. Lest the Lord see, and it displease him, and he turn away his
wrath from him.
24:19. Contend not with the wicked, nor seek to be like the ungodly.
24:20. For evil men have no hope of things to come, and the lamp of the
wicked shall be put out.
24:21. My son, fear the Lord, and the king: and have nothing to do with
detractors.
24:22. For their destruction shall rise suddenly: and who knoweth the
ruin of both?
24:23. These things also to the wise: It is not good to have respect to
persons in judgment.
24:24. They that say to the wicked man: Thou art just: shall be cursed
by the people, and the tribes shall abhor them.
24:25. They that rebuke him shall be praised: and a blessing shall come
upon them.
24:26. He shall kiss the lips, who answereth right words.
24:27. Prepare thy work without, and diligently till thy ground: that
afterward thou mayst build thy house.
24:28. Be not witness without cause against thy neighbour: and deceive
not any man with thy lips.
24:29. Say not: I will do to him as he hath done to me: I will render to
every one according to his work.
24:30. I passed by the field of the slothful man, and by the vineyard of
the foolish man:
24:31. And behold it was all filled with nettles, and thorns had covered
the face thereof, and the stone wall was broken down.
24:32. Which when I had seen, I laid it up in my heart, and by the
example I received instruction.
24:33. Thou wilt sleep a little, said I, thou wilt slumber a little,
thou wilt fold thy hands a little to rest.
24:34. And poverty shall come to thee as a runner, and beggary as an
armed man.
Proverbs Chapter 25
25:1. These are also parables of Solomon, which the men of Ezechias,
king of Juda, copied out.
25:2. It is the glory of God to conceal the word, and the glory of kings
to search out the speech.
25:3. The heaven above and the earth beneath, and the heart of kings is
unsearchable.
25:4. Take away the rust from silver, and there shall come forth a most
pure vessel:
25:5. Take away wickedness from the face of the king, and his throne
shall be established with justice.
25:6. Appear not glorious before the king, and stand not in the place of
great men.
25:7. For it is better that it should be said to thee: Come up hither;
than that thou shouldst be humbled before the prince.
25:8. The things which thy eyes have seen, utter not hastily in a
quarrel: lest afterward thou mayst not be able to make amends, when thou
hast dishonoured thy friend.
25:9. Treat thy cause with thy friend, and discover not the secret to a
stranger:
25:10. Lest he insult over thee, when he hath heard it, and cease not to
upbraid thee. Grace and friendship deliver a man: keep these for
thyself, lest thou fall under reproach.
25:11. To speak a word in due time, is like apples of gold on beds of
silver.
25:12. As an earring of gold and a bright pearl, so is he that reproveth
the wise, and the obedient ear.
25:13. As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful
messenger to him that sent him, for he refresheth his soul.
25:14. As clouds, and wind, when no rain followeth, so is the man that
boasteth, and doth not fulfil his promises.
25:15. By patience a prince shall be appeased, and a soft tongue shall
break hardness.
25:16. Thou hast found honey, eat what is sufficient for thee, lest
being glutted therewith thou vomit it up.
25:17. Withdraw thy foot from the house of thy neighbour, lest having
his fill he hate thee.
25:18. A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour, is like a
dart and a sword and a sharp arrow.
25:19. To trust in an unfaithful man in the time of trouble, is like a
rotten tooth, and weary foot,
25:20. And one that looseth his garment in cold weather. As vinegar upon
nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a very evil heart. As a moth doth
by a garment, and a worm by the wood: so the sadness of a man consumeth
the heart.
25:21. If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat: if he thirst, give him
water to drink:
25:22. For thou shalt heap hot coals upon his head, and the Lord will
reward thee.
25:23. The north wind driveth away rain, as doth a sad countenance a
backbiting tongue.
25:24. It is better to sit in a corner of the housetop: than with a
brawling woman, and in a common house.
25:25. As cold water to a thirsty soul, so are good tidings from a far
country.
25:26. A just man falling down before the wicked, is as a fountain
troubled with the foot and a corrupted spring.
25:27. As it is not good for a man to eat much honey, so he that is a
searcher of majesty shall be overwhelmed by glory.
Majesty... Viz., of God. For to search into that incomprehensible
Majesty, and to pretend to sound the depths of the wisdom of God, is
exposing our weak understanding to be blinded with an excess of light
and glory, which it cannot comprehend.
25:28. As a city that lieth open and is not compassed with walls, so is
a man that cannot refrain his own spirit in speaking.
Proverbs Chapter 26
26:1. As snow in summer, and rain in harvest, so glory is not seemly for
a fool.
26:2. As a bird flying to other places, and a sparrow going here or
there: so a curse uttered without cause shall come upon a man.
