Proverbs / Discipline, Leadership, and Social Order

Discipline, Leadership, and Social Order

Proverbs 29:1-27

Chapter 29

¹ A man of rebukes, stiffening his neck, suddenly is broken, and there is no healing. ² When the righteous multiply, the people rejoice, but when a wicked one rules, the people groan. ³ A man who loves wisdom will gladden his father, but associating with prostitutes will destroy his wealth. ⁴ A king establishes the earth by justice, but a man of offerings will destroy it. ⁵ A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net over his steps. ⁶ In transgression an evil man is a snare, but the righteous will rejoice and be glad. ⁷ The righteous know the cause of the poor; the wicked do not understand knowledge. ⁸ Men of scoffing blow up a city, but wise ones restore anger. ⁹ If a wise man is judged with a foolish rebel, he rages and laughs, and there is no quiet. ¹⁰ Men of bloods hate an innocent one, and the upright seek his life. ¹¹ He will bring out all his spirit; a fool praises it, but a wise man in the back. ¹² If a ruler listens to a word of falsehood, all his ministers are wicked. ¹³ The poor and a man of schemes have met; he causes the eyes of both of them to shine: the LORD. ¹⁴ A king who judges the poor in truth—his throne is established forever. ¹⁵ The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a boy sent loose shames his mother. ¹⁶ When the wicked multiply, transgression multiplies, and the righteous will see their fall. ¹⁷ Discipline your son, and he will give you rest, and he will give delights to your soul. ¹⁸ Without divine revelation or vision, a people is unrestrained, and he who keeps Torah is blessed. ¹⁹ A servant is not disciplined by words, for he understands, and there is no answer. ²⁰ Have you seen a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. ²¹ A pampered one from his youth, his servant, and his end will be a nobleman. ²² A man of anger provokes strife, and a master of wrath is a chief of sin. ²³ A man's haughtiness will humiliate him, but a lowly spirit will uphold glory. ²⁴ One who shares with a thief hates his own vital life force; he hears the covenant curse but does not declare it. ²⁵ The fear of man gives a snare, but the one trusting in the LORD is secure. ²⁶ Many seek the face of a ruler, but a man's justice comes from the LORD. ²⁷ The abomination of righteous men is a man of injustice, and the abomination of the wicked is the straight way.