UNROLL
Two neighboring fieldstone houses in a narrow lane: the left wall freshly plastered and swept, the right wall slumped with stones spilled into the lane.

Solomon’s sayings

Proverbs 14

Every day you are building something with your own hands, or pulling it down.

35 verses≈ 4 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

Tap any post to go deeper

Where we are

  1. 1–7The father's talksWhy the book exists, then a father to his son
  2. 8–9Wisdom callsHer house and Folly's
  3. 10–22:16Solomon's sayingsTwo lines at a timeChapter 14
  4. 22:17–24The sayings of the wiseThirty sayings, and a few more
  5. 25–29Hezekiah's collectionMore of Solomon, copied out later
  6. 30AgurNumbered sayings from a weary man
  7. 31LemuelA mother's words, and the noble wife

The Wise Woman

Every wise woman builds her house,

but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

He who walks in uprightness fears the LORD,

but the one who is devious in his ways despises Him.

The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.

A heavy ox with its muzzle in a stone manger in a lean-to byre, chaff and dung on the floor, a wooden plow leaning by the door.

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,

but an abundant harvest comes through the strength of the ox.

Sayings

Wise and foolish

  1. Justice

    An honest witness

    An honest witness does not deceive,

    but a dishonest witness pours forth lies.

  2. Wisdom

    The mocker finds none

    A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,

    but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

  3. Walk away from a fool

    Stay away from a foolish man;

    you will gain no knowledge from his speech.

  4. Knowing your own way

    The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,

    but the folly of fools deceives them.

  5. Mocking amends

    Fools mock the making of amends,

    but goodwill is found among the upright.

Reflect

Take it home

Whose speech shapes you most? What is it teaching you?

The heart knows its own bitterness,

and no stranger shares in its joy.

The house of the wicked will be destroyed,

but the tent of the upright will flourish.

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way of death.

Proverbs 14:12

Even in laughter the heart may ache,

and joy may end in sorrow.

The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways,

but a good man is rewarded for his ways.

The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.

Sayings

The careful and the careless

  1. Wisdom

    Careful or reckless

    A wise man fears and turns from evil,

    but a fool is careless and reckless.

  2. Anger

    Temper and scheming

    A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,

    and a devious man is hated.

  3. Wisdom

    What the simple inherit

    The simple inherit folly,

    but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

  4. Justice

    The evil bow

    The evil bow before the good,

    and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

The poor man is hated even by his neighbor,

but many are those who love the rich.

He who despises his neighbor sins,

but blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor.

Sayings

What your plans become

  1. Justice

    Planning good

    Do not those who contrive evil go astray?

    But those who plan goodness find loving devotion and faithfulness.

  2. Work

    Labor or talk

    There is profit in all labor,

    but mere talk leads only to poverty.

  3. Money

    The crown of the wise

    The crown of the wise is their wealth,

    but the effort of fools is folly.

  4. Justice

    A witness who saves

    A truthful witness saves lives,

    but one who utters lies is deceitful.

Question

Quick question

Back to verse 4 and the farmer’s barn.

An empty manger stays clean. What does it cost?

A patient man has great understanding,

but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.

A tranquil heart is life to the body,

but envy rots the bones.

An old widow’s weathered hands taking a round flatbread from a younger neighbor’s at a plain doorway.

Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker,

but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.

0:06

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Sayings

Refuge, nation, king

  1. The LORD

    Thrown down or sheltered

    The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin,

    but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.

  2. Wisdom

    Where wisdom rests

    Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning;

    even among fools she is known.

  3. Justice

    What lifts a nation

    Righteousness exalts a nation,

    but sin is a disgrace to any people.

  4. Kings

    The king’s delight

    A king delights in a wise servant,

    but his anger falls on the shameful.

Pray

Say it to Him

LORD, I can’t always trust my own sense of what seems right. Show me the way that ends in life, and keep me on it. Make me kind to those the world looks past, for You made them.

You’ve experienced

Proverbs 14

0 of 31 chapters read

A verse to carry with you

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

Proverbs 14:12

or swipe left