Read The Message Proverbs 11 Bible Online

Proverbs 11 - The Message bible

Proverbs 11

¹GOD hates cheating in the marketplace; he loves it when business is aboveboard.

²The stuck-up fall flat on their faces, but down-to-earth people stand firm.

³The integrity of the honest keeps them on track; the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin.

⁴A thick bankroll is no help when life falls apart, but a principled life can stand up to the worst.

⁵Moral character makes for smooth traveling; an evil life is a hard life.

⁶Good character is the best insurance; crooks get trapped in their sinful lust.

⁷When the wicked die, that’s it— the story’s over, end of hope.

⁸A good person is saved from much trouble; a bad person runs straight into it.

⁹The loose tongue of the godless spreads destruction; the common sense of the godly preserves them.

¹⁰When it goes well for good people, the whole town cheers; when it goes badly for bad people, the town celebrates.

¹¹When right-living people bless the city, it flourishes; evil talk turns it into a ghost town in no time.

¹²Mean-spirited slander is heartless; quiet discretion accompanies good sense.

¹³A gadabout gossip can’t be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won’t violate a confidence.

¹⁴Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.

¹⁵Whoever makes deals with strangers is sure to get burned; if you keep a cool head, you’ll avoid rash bargains.

¹⁶A woman of gentle grace gets respect, but men of rough violence grab for loot.

¹⁷When you’re kind to others, you help yourself; when you’re cruel to others, you hurt yourself.

¹⁸Bad work gets paid with a bad check; good work gets solid pay.

¹⁹Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live, or chase after phantoms of evil and die.

²⁰GOD can’t stand deceivers, but oh how he relishes integrity.

²¹Count on this: The wicked won’t get off scot-free, and God’s loyal people will triumph.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful face on an empty head.

²³The desires of good people lead straight to the best, but wicked ambition ends in angry frustration.

²⁴The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.

²⁵The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.

²⁶Curses on those who drive a hard bargain! Blessings on all who play fair and square!

²⁷The one who seeks good finds delight; the student of evil becomes evil.

²⁸A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.

²⁹Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air; common sense tells you it’s a stupid way to live.

³⁰A good life is a fruit-bearing tree; a violent life destroys souls.

³¹If good people barely make it, what’s in store for the bad!