Proverbs 19

• 1. It is better to be poor and honest than to be a fool and dishonest.
• 2. Zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way.
• 3. People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.
• 4. Wealth makes many "friends"; poverty drives them away.
• 5. A false witness will not go unpunished, nor will a liar escape.
• 6. Many beg favors from a prince; everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts!
• 7. If the relatives of the poor despise them, how much more will their friends avoid them. The poor call after them, but they are gone.
• 8. To acquire wisdom is to love oneself; people who cherish understanding will prosper.
• 9. A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will be destroyed.
• 10. It isn't right for a fool to live in luxury or for a slave to rule over princes!
• 11. People with good sense restrain their anger; they earn esteem by overlooking wrongs.
• 12. The king's anger is like a lion's roar, but his favor is like dew on the grass.
• 13. A foolish child is a calamity to a father; a nagging wife annoys like a constant dripping.
• 14. Parents can provide their sons with an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the LORD can give an understanding wife.
• 15. A lazy person sleeps soundly--and goes hungry.
• 16. Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death.
• 17. If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD--and he will repay you!
• 18. Discipline your children while there is hope. If you don't, you will ruin their lives.
• 19. Short-tempered people must pay their own penalty. If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again.
• 20. Get all the advice and instruction you can, and be wise the rest of your life.
• 21. You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail.
• 22. Loyalty makes a person attractive. And it is better to be poor than dishonest.
• 23. Fear of the LORD gives life, security, and protection from harm.
• 24. Some people are so lazy that they won't even lift a finger to feed themselves.
• 25. If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded will learn a lesson; if you reprove the wise, they will be all the wiser.
• 26. Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother are a public disgrace and an embarrassment.
• 27. If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you have turned your back on knowledge.
• 28. A corrupt witness makes a mockery of justice; the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
• 29. Mockers will be punished, and the backs of fools will be beaten.

Proverbs 20

• 1. Wine produces mockers; liquor leads to brawls. Whoever is led astray by drink cannot be wise.
• 2. The king's fury is like a lion's roar; to rouse his anger is to risk your life.
• 3. Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.
• 4. If you are too lazy to plow in the right season, you will have no food at the harvest.
• 5. Though good advice lies deep within a person's heart, the wise will draw it out.
• 6. Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is really faithful?
• 7. The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children after them.
• 8. When a king judges, he carefully weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good.
• 9. Who can say, "I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin"?
• 10. The LORD despises double standards of every kind.
• 11. Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure and right.
• 12. Ears to hear and eyes to see--both are gifts from the LORD.
• 13. If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!
• 14. The buyer haggles over the price, saying, "It's worthless," then brags about getting a bargain!
• 15. Wise speech is rarer and more valuable than gold and rubies.
• 16. Be sure to get collateral from anyone who guarantees the debt of a stranger. Get a deposit if someone guarantees the debt of a foreigner.
• 17. Stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth.
• 18. Plans succeed through good counsel; don't go to war without the advice of others.
• 19. A gossip tells secrets, so don't hang around with someone who talks too much.
• 20. If you curse your father or mother, the lamp of your life will be snuffed out.
• 21. An inheritance obtained early in life is not a blessing in the end.
• 22. Don't say, "I will get even for this wrong." Wait for the LORD to handle the matter.
• 23. The LORD despises double standards; he is not pleased by dishonest scales.
• 24. How can we understand the road we travel? It is the LORD who directs our steps.
• 25. It is dangerous to make a rash promise to God before counting the cost.
• 26. A wise king finds the wicked, lays them out like wheat, then runs the crushing wheel over them.
• 27. The LORD's searchlight penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.
• 28. Unfailing love and faithfulness protect the king; his throne is made secure through love.
• 29. The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.
• 30. Physical punishment cleanses away evil; such discipline purifies the heart.

Proverbs 21

• 1. The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he turns it wherever he pleases.
• 2. People may think they are doing what is right, but the LORD examines the heart.
• 3. The LORD is more pleased when we do what is just and right than when we give him sacrifices.
• 4. Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin.
• 5. Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
• 6. Wealth created by lying is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.
• 7. Because the wicked refuse to do what is just, their violence boomerangs and destroys them.
• 8. The guilty walk a crooked path; the innocent travel a straight road.
• 9. It is better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a contentious wife in a lovely home.
• 10. Evil people love to harm others; their neighbors get no mercy from them.
• 11. A simpleton can learn only by seeing mockers punished; a wise person learns from instruction.
• 12. The Righteous One knows what is going on in the homes of the wicked; he will bring the wicked to disaster.
• 13. Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.
• 14. A secret gift calms anger; a secret bribe pacifies fury.
• 15. Justice is a joy to the godly, but it causes dismay among evildoers.
• 16. The person who strays from common sense will end up in the company of the dead.
• 17. Those who love pleasure become poor; wine and luxury are not the way to riches.
• 18. Sometimes the wicked are punished to save the godly, and the treacherous for the upright.
• 19. It is better to live alone in the desert than with a crabby, complaining wife.
• 20. The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.
• 21. Whoever pursues godliness and unfailing love will find life, godliness, and honor.
• 22. The wise conquer the city of the strong and level the fortress in which they trust.
• 23. If you keep your mouth shut, you will stay out of trouble.
• 24. Mockers are proud and haughty; they act with boundless arrogance.
• 25. The desires of lazy people will be their ruin, for their hands refuse to work.
• 26. They are always greedy for more, while the godly love to give!
• 27. God loathes the sacrifice of an evil person, especially when it is brought with ulterior motives.
• 28. A false witness will be cut off, but an attentive witness will be allowed to speak.
• 29. The wicked put up a bold front, but the upright proceed with care.
• 30. Human plans, no matter how wise or well advised, cannot stand against the LORD.
• 31. The horses are prepared for battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.

New Living Translation: 225 of 324 days.