Proverbs 11:2-18

Proud and boastful people will be shamed, but wisdom stays with those who are modest and humble. Good people are guided by their honesty, but crooks who lie and cheat will ruin themselves. Money is worthless when you face God’s punishment, but living right will save you from death. Doing right makes life better for those who are good, but the wicked are destroyed by their own wicked ways. Doing right sets honest people free, but people who can’t be trusted are trapped by their greed. When the wicked die, all their hopes are lost; everything they thought they could do comes to nothing. Good people escape from trouble, but the wicked come along and are trapped by it. With their words hypocrites can destroy their neighbors. But with what they know, good people can escape. When good people are successful, the whole city is happy, and they all shout with joy when evil people are destroyed. Blessings from the honest people living in a city will make it great, but the things evil people say can destroy it. Stupid people say bad things about their neighbors. Wise people know to be quiet. People who tell secrets about others cannot be trusted. Those who can be trusted keep quiet. A nation without wise leaders will fall. Many good advisors make a nation safe. You will be sorry if you promise to pay a stranger’s debt. Refuse to make such promises and you will be safe. A kind and gentle woman gains respect, but violent men gain only wealth. People who are kind will be rewarded for their kindness, but cruel people will be rewarded with trouble. The work of evil people is all lies, but those who do right will receive a good reward.