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Proverbs 11
1A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but accurate weights are his delight.
2When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility comes wisdom.
3The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
4Riches don’t profit in the day of wrath, but delivers from death.
5The of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
6The of the upright shall deliver them, but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil .
7When a wicked man dies, hope perishes, and expectation of power comes to nothing.
8A person is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked takes his place.
9With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but the will be delivered through knowledge.
10When it goes well with the , the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.
11By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding holds his peace.
13One who brings gossip betrays a confidence, but one who is of a trustworthy spirit is one who keeps a secret.
14Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.
15He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure.
16A woman obtains honor, but violent men obtain riches.
17The merciful man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
18Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows reaps a sure reward.
19He who is truly gets life. He who pursues evil gets death.
20Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those whose ways are blameless are his delight.
21Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the offspring of the will be delivered.
22Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
23The of the is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.
25The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.
26People curse someone who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
27He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come to him.
28He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the shall flourish as the green leaf.
29He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
30The fruit of the is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.
31Behold, the shall be repaid in the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!
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Questions this passage answers
How do I stop committing the same sin over and over?
Scripture answers a repeated sin by changing what the believer reckons to be true, then by naming the ordinary means: consider yourself dead to sin, stop presenting your body to it, bring it out of secrecy by confession, walk by the Spirit, and remove what feeds the desire. It does not promise a single moment that ends the struggle, and it does not treat repeated falling as proof that grace has run out.
How do I trust God when life is difficult?
Biblical trust is not a feeling you generate. It is leaning your weight on what God has revealed about himself, especially when your circumstances suggest otherwise. Scripture builds trust the same way every time: by remembering what God has already done, telling him the truth about what you feel now, and obeying the next small thing while the outcome is still hidden.
How do I know God's will for my life?
Scripture speaks of God's will in two ways. His revealed will is what he has already told us plainly and is not in doubt: holiness, love, gratitude, obedience. His hidden will concerns the future and is not given to us in advance. The Bible directs almost all its attention to the first, and it teaches us to make wise decisions inside it rather than to decode secret guidance.
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
The fear of the LORD is not terror of an unpredictable God. It is the reverence of a creature who has rightly understood who God is, holy, sovereign and near, and who therefore takes him seriously in every decision. Proverbs calls it the beginning of knowledge, because a person who has not reckoned with God has not yet begun to understand anything rightly.