World English Bible
- The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father; but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.
- Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.
- The LORD will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.
- He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand, but the hand of the diligent brings wealth.
- He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during the harvest is a son who causes shame.
- Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
- The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- The wise in heart accept commandments, but a chattering fool will fall.
- He who walks blamelessly walks surely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.
- One who winks with the eye causes sorrow, but a chattering fool will fall.
- The mouth of the righteous is a spring of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
- Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs.
- Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has discernment, but a rod is for the back of him who is void of understanding.
- Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin.
- The rich man’s wealth is his strong city. The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
- The labor of the righteous leads to life. The increase of the wicked leads to sin.
- He is in the way of life who heeds correction, but he who forsakes reproof leads others astray.
- He who hides hatred has lying lips. He who utters a slander is a fool.
- In the multitude of words there is no lack of disobedience, but he who restrains his lips does wisely.
- The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver. The heart of the wicked is of little worth.
- The lips of the righteous feed many, but the foolish die for lack of understanding.
- The LORD’s blessing brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.
- It is a fool’s pleasure to do wickedness, but wisdom is a man of understanding’s pleasure.
- What the wicked fear will overtake them, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
- When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more; but the righteous stand firm forever.
- As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.
- The fear of the LORD prolongs days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
- The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hope of the wicked will perish.
- The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the upright, but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
- The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land.
- The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
- The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.
Proverbs 10 begins a new section of the book. Instead of long speeches, we receive short, two-line sayings, most built on contrast: wise and foolish, diligent and lazy, righteous and wicked. These are not scattered observations. Together they form a spiritual anatomy. Heads receive blessing, hands labor, feet choose paths, hearts treasure knowledge—and mouths reveal what kind of life is growing within.
In ancient Israel’s dry landscape, a living spring was not merely beautiful; it could sustain an entire community. Thus the claim that “the mouth of the righteous is a spring of life” is astonishing (Proverbs 10:11, World English Bible). Later, the lips of the righteous “feed many.”
Our words are meant to become public wells.
Some speech drains life from a room through criticism, suspicion, flattery, or endless noise. Other speech gives courage to the ashamed, direction to the confused, and hope to the weary. Jesus teaches that the mouth speaks from the heart’s abundance (Luke 6:45). The question, then, is not merely, Did I say the right thing? but, What underground source fed what I said?
The repeated warning against the “chattering fool” is especially timely. Proverbs does not equate many words with wisdom. Often our excessive speech is an attempt to control how others see us. Silence can be an act of faith: I do not have to manage every impression because God knows the truth.
“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs” (Proverbs 10:12, World English Bible). Hatred acts like someone raking dying embers until they flame again. Love covers—but not by calling evil good or protecting abusers. The Hebrew verb kasah means to cover or conceal. Here it describes love’s refusal to turn another person’s failure into social currency.
Hatred publicizes sin because it enjoys the sinner’s reduction. Love seeks restoration, accepts repentance, and refuses needless humiliation. Peter later applies this proverb to the church (1 Peter 4:8). At the cross, Christ did not pretend sin was harmless; he covered sinners by bearing sin’s cost. Christian love neither denies the wound nor delights in displaying it.
The “soul” in verse 3 translates nephesh, a word that can mean life, appetite, or even throat. God cares about embodied need. Yet this chapter does not endorse a shallow prosperity gospel. Verse 15 honestly admits that poverty can itself become ruinous—a social reality Scripture commands God’s people to confront.
Verse 22 says the Lord’s blessing makes rich and adds no sorrow. “Sorrow” belongs to the same Hebrew word family used for humanity’s painful toil after Eden’s fall (Genesis 3:16–17). God’s blessing is therefore more than increased possessions. It is a foretaste of creation released from cursed labor—work without slavery, provision without corruption, abundance without the anxious fear of loss.
The whirlwind may come, Proverbs says, but righteousness has a foundation. Jesus brings that image to completion: the house founded on his words survives the storm (Matthew 7:24–27). Wisdom is not a technique for avoiding every storm. It is life rooted in the One whom no storm—not even death—could remove.
Suggested hymn: “O for a Heart to Praise My God” by Charles Wesley.
Lord Jesus, cleanse the hidden spring of my heart. Make my words life-giving, my silence faithful, my labor honest, and my love strong enough to cover without concealing evil. Root me in your righteousness, so that when the storm passes, I may still be standing in you. Amen.