Proverbs 10King James Version
The proper proverb collection begins. Each verse is a two line contrast. A wise son maketh a glad father. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. The mouth of the righteous is a well of life. The tongue of the just is as choice silver.
The first collection of standalone proverbs under Solomon's name. Antithetic couplets dominate: wise son versus foolish son, diligent hands versus slack hands, truthful lips versus lying mouths. 'Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins' (verse 12). The righteous have enough; the wicked's hopes perish. Silence is wisdom; many words invite trouble.
Contrasts drive the chapter: diligence versus laziness, truth versus lies, wise speech versus foolish chatter. Small choices compound into character.
10:12: 'Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.' Later quoted in 1 Peter 4:8; love is the practical social force that absorbs offense.
Solomon's court scribes compiled these sayings, some original, some adapted from oral tradition or earlier sources. Ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature (Egyptian Amenemope, for example) shows parallel forms, but Proverbs is consistently anchored in covenant with God.
Solomon's wisdom collected; no named characters. The wise son, the foolish son, the diligent hand, the slack hand as recurring types.
Chapter 10 opens the main collection (chapters 10-22) that forms the book's core. These couplets were used in education, memorized, and applied situationally. The antithetic structure makes each proverb a small argument. Chapter 10 focuses heavily on speech and work, two arenas where wisdom or folly becomes immediately visible.
For when you want a quick recalibration on how daily choices add up. Read ten verses and let the contrasts do the work.
1The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
2Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.
3The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
4He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
5He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.
6Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
7The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
8The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.
9He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
10He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.
11The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
12Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
13In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
14Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
15The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
16The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.
17He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.
18He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
19In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
20The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
21The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
22The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
23It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.
24The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
25As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
26As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.
27The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
28The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
29The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
30The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
31The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
32The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.