Dishonest Scales

The opening sayings oppose crooked gain, pride, and treachery with honest dealing, humility, and upright guidance. Riches cannot save in the day of wrath, but righteousness directs, delivers, and outlasts the false hopes of the wicked.

D¹ishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, ²When pride comes, disgrace follows, ³The integrity of the upright guides them, ⁴Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, ⁵The righteousness of the blameless directs their path, ⁶The righteousness of the upright delivers them, ⁷When the wicked man dies, his hope perishes, ⁸The righteous man is delivered from trouble;

Speech and counsel are shown to shape the fate of neighbors, cities, and nations: the ungodly mouth destroys, gossip betrays, contempt wounds, and lack of guidance leads to collapse. By contrast, knowledge, discretion, faithful secrecy, and abundant counsel preserve communal life, while reckless surety still brings personal trouble.

⁹With his mouth the ungodly man destroys his neighbor, ¹⁰When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices, ¹¹By the blessing of the upright a city is built up, ¹²Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks judgment, ¹³A gossip reveals a secret, ¹⁴For lack of guidance, a nation falls, ¹⁵He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer,

These proverbs contrast graciousness with brutality, true wages with empty ones, life-giving righteousness with death-seeking evil, and desires shaped toward good with expectations that end in wrath. The section also exposes the ugliness of external beauty without discretion and insists that the LORD favors the blameless rather than the perverse.

¹⁶A gracious woman attains honor, ¹⁷A kind man benefits himself, ¹⁸The wicked man earns an empty wage, ¹⁹Genuine righteousness leads to life, ²⁰The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, ²¹Be assured that the wicked will not go unpunished, ²²Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout ²³The desire of the righteous leads only to good,

The chapter closes by praising openhanded generosity, public-minded provision, active pursuit of good, and fruitful righteousness, while warning against hoarding, trusting riches, and troubling one's own household. The righteous are pictured as flourishing like living trees and as bearing fruit that wins others, whereas the wicked are reminded that recompense reaches them even in this life.

²⁴One gives freely, yet gains even more; ²⁵A generous soul will prosper, ²⁶The people will curse the hoarder of grain, ²⁷He who searches out good finds favor, ²⁸He who trusts in his riches will fall, ²⁹He who brings trouble on his house will inherit the wind, ³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, ³¹If the righteous receive their due on earth,