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Proverbs 11 (CEV)

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¹ The LORD hates anyone who cheats, but he likes everyone who is honest. ² Too much pride can put you to shame. It's wiser to be humble. ³ If you do the right thing, honesty will be your guide. But if you are crooked, you will be trapped by your own dishonesty. ⁴ When God is angry, money won't help you. Obeying God is the only way to be saved from death. ⁵ If you are truly good, you will do right; if you are wicked, you will be destroyed by your own sin. ⁶ Honesty can keep you safe, but if you can't be trusted, you trap yourself. ⁷ When the wicked die, their hopes die with them. ⁸ Trouble goes right past the LORD's people and strikes the wicked. ⁹ Dishonest people use gossip to destroy their neighbors; good people are protected by their own good sense. ¹⁰ When honest people prosper and the wicked disappear, the whole city celebrates. ¹¹ When God blesses his people, their city prospers, but deceitful liars can destroy a city. ¹² It's stupid to say bad things about your neighbors. If you are sensible, you will keep quiet. ¹³ A gossip tells everything, but a true friend will keep a secret. ¹⁴ A city without wise leaders will end up in ruin; a city with many wise leaders will be kept safe. ¹⁵ It's a dangerous thing to guarantee payment for someone's debts. Don't do it! ¹⁶ A gracious woman will be respected, but a man must work hard to get rich. ¹⁷ Kindness is rewarded-- but if you are cruel, you hurt yourself. ¹⁸ Meanness gets you nowhere, but goodness is rewarded. ¹⁹ Always do the right thing, and you will live; keep on doing wrong, and you will die. ²⁰ The LORD hates sneaky people, but he likes everyone who lives right. ²¹ You can be sure of this: All crooks will be punished, but God's people won't. ²² A beautiful woman who acts foolishly is like a gold ring on the snout of a pig. ²³ Good people want what is best, but troublemakers hope to stir up trouble. ²⁴ Sometimes you can become rich by being generous or poor by being greedy. ²⁵ Generosity will be rewarded: Give a cup of water, and you will receive a cup of water in return. ²⁶ Charge too much for grain, and you will be cursed; sell it at a fair price, and you will be praised. ²⁷ Try hard to do right, and you will win friends; go looking for trouble, and you will find it. ²⁸ Trust in your wealth, and you will be a failure, but God's people will prosper like healthy plants. ²⁹ Fools who cause trouble in the family won't inherit a thing. They will end up as slaves of someone with good sense. ³⁰ Live right, and you will eat from the life-giving tree. And if you act wisely, others will follow. ³¹ If good people are rewarded here on this earth, all who are cruel and mean will surely be punished.