10:1KJV The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
B:E Project These are Solomon's proverbs. A wise child brings his father joy, but a foolish child weighs his mother down with grief.
Context: Opens the main collection of Solomon's standalone two-line proverbs (chapters 10-29), the first of hundreds of short, self-contained sayings built on antithetical parallelism, contrasting wise/righteous with foolish/wicked.
Meaning: This sets the tone for the whole new section: our choices ripple out and affect the people who love us, not just ourselves. A child's wisdom or foolishness is felt directly in the emotional life of their parents - joy on one hand, heartbreak on the other.
Lesson: The way you live doesn't just affect you - it lands on the people who love you most. I want you to remember that your growth and your struggles both matter to someone, and choosing wisdom is one way of loving your family well.
See Also: Proverbs 15:20 (a wise son maketh a glad father); Proverbs 17:25 (a foolish son is a grief to his father).
10:2KJV Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.
B:E Project Wealth gained by wrongdoing does you no good in the end, but living rightly can save your life.
Context: A standalone proverb on wealth and integrity, one of many in the chapter comparing the security of righteousness against the emptiness of wrongfully-gained gain.
Meaning: Ill-gotten gains might look like success on the surface, but they carry no real lasting value - they can't buy you out of the deeper consequences of how you got them. Living with integrity, by contrast, has a protective, life-preserving quality that dishonest wealth simply doesn't.
Lesson: Don't measure your life by what you've accumulated, however you got it - measure it by whether you can live with how you got there. I'd rather you have less and sleep easy than have more and be haunted by how you got it.
See Also: Proverbs 11:4 (riches profit not in the day of wrath); Luke 12:15 (life consisteth not in the abundance of possessions).
10:3KJV The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
B:E Project God won't let a righteous person go hungry, but he pushes away what the wicked have gathered.
Context: Continues the wealth-and-security theme of verse 2, framing provision as ultimately connected to how a person lives rather than just how hard they work.
Meaning: This is a statement of trust: living rightly places you under a kind of watchful care that ensures your basic needs are met, while wrongfully-gained abundance ultimately doesn't hold. It's not a promise of luxury, but a promise that integrity isn't a losing strategy for survival.
Lesson: You don't have to claw and cheat your way to feeling secure - I'm not going to let you starve for choosing to do right. Trust that steady, honest living is actually the more reliable path, even when it looks slower.
See Also: Matthew 6:33 (seek first the kingdom, and these things shall be added); Psalm 37:25 (I have not seen the righteous forsaken).
10:4KJV He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
B:E Project A lazy, careless worker ends up poor, but a hard-working, diligent person becomes wealthy.
Context: A standalone proverb introducing the theme of diligence versus laziness, one of the major recurring subjects throughout the collection in chapters 10-29.
Meaning: This is straightforward cause-and-effect: effort and carelessness produce genuinely different outcomes over time. It's not a guarantee for every individual case, but a general life-principle Proverbs repeats often - consistent effort compounds into results, slackness compounds into shortage.
Lesson: Small, steady effort matters more than it feels like it does in the moment - keep showing up, even when no one's watching. I see the work you put in even when the results are slow to come.
See Also: Proverbs 12:24 (the hand of the diligent shall bear rule); 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (if any would not work, neither should he eat).
10:5KJV He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.
B:E Project Whoever gathers the harvest in summer is acting wisely, but whoever sleeps through harvest time brings shame on himself.
Context: A standalone agricultural proverb reinforcing the diligence theme of verse 4, using the image of timing your effort to the season.
Meaning: Wisdom isn't just about working hard in general - it's about recognising the right moment and acting on it. Opportunities have a season; missing that window through laziness or inattention has real, embarrassing consequences that are hard to undo later.
Lesson: Pay attention to the moments that matter and act while the opportunity is actually there - don't let the right season pass you by through drifting or delay. I want you awake to your own life, not sleepwalking through the times that count.
See Also: Ecclesiastes 3:1 (to every thing there is a season); Proverbs 6:6-8 (consider the ant, gathering food in harvest).
10:6KJV Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
B:E Project Good things rest on the head of a righteous person, but the wicked person's own mouth is full of violence.
Context: A standalone proverb contrasting the visible outcomes of righteous and wicked living - blessing crowning one, violent speech betraying the other.
Meaning: The imagery is of blessing crowning someone like a garland, set against a mouth that can't help but reveal the aggression underneath. What comes out of your mouth eventually gives away what's actually inside you, for better or worse.
Lesson: Let your words be a genuine reflection of a heart that's settled and kind, not a cover for anger you haven't dealt with. I'd rather you let goodness show through what you say than let bitterness leak out sideways.
See Also: Proverbs 10:11 (the mouth of a righteous man is a well of life); Luke 6:45 (out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh).
10:7KJV The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
B:E Project A righteous person's memory is a blessing to others, but a wicked person's name will rot away.
Context: A standalone proverb on legacy and reputation, considering how a person is remembered by others after they're gone.
Meaning: How you're remembered isn't random - it grows directly out of how you lived. A life of integrity leaves behind something people are genuinely glad to recall, while a corrupt life leaves a name that decays and is best forgotten.
Lesson: Think about the mark you're leaving, not just for today but for the people who'll remember you later. Live in a way that makes your name something worth someone smiling at, long after you're gone.
See Also: Ecclesiastes 7:1 (a good name is better than precious ointment); Psalm 112:6 (the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance).
10:8KJV The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.
B:E Project A wise-hearted person accepts guidance, but a chattering fool is heading for a fall.
Context: A standalone proverb on teachability, contrasting quiet receptiveness with reckless, talkative foolishness - a theme returned to often in this chapter, see verses 10, 14 and 19.
Meaning: Wisdom shows itself in a willingness to actually take instruction rather than talk over everyone. The fool, by contrast, is defined by too much talk and too little listening, and that pattern eventually leads to a downfall they could have avoided.
Lesson: Practise listening more than you speak, especially when someone's trying to help you avoid a mistake. Real strength isn't having the last word - it's being humble enough to actually receive it.
See Also: James 1:19 (swift to hear, slow to speak); Proverbs 12:15 (a fool's way is right in his own eyes, but he that hearkeneth is wise).
10:9KJV He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
B:E Project Whoever lives with integrity walks securely, but whoever twists their path will eventually be found out.
Context: A standalone proverb on integrity and its natural stability, one of many pairing "walking uprightly" with security and crookedness with exposure.
Meaning: An honest life doesn't require you to keep track of lies or cover your tracks - there's a natural steadiness to it. Dishonesty, by contrast, is inherently unstable; sooner or later inconsistencies surface and the truth comes out.
Lesson: Living honestly is actually the easier road in the long run, even if it feels harder in the moment - you never have to remember what story you told. I want you free from the exhausting work of hiding things; truth lets you walk steady.
See Also: Proverbs 28:18 (whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved); Numbers 32:23 (be sure your sin will find you out).
10:10KJV He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.
B:E Project Whoever winks slyly causes trouble, and a chattering fool comes to ruin.
Context: A standalone proverb warning against sly, manipulative behaviour - the "wink" suggesting secret scheming or deceit - alongside the foolish talkativeness echoed from verse 8.
Meaning: The "wink" pictures someone signalling deceit behind others' backs - subtle manipulation rather than open honesty. Both hidden scheming and reckless talk are condemned here as two different routes to the same destination: hurting people and eventually being brought down by your own behaviour.
Lesson: Be the same person in private as you are in public - no secret signals, no hidden agendas. Openness costs you something now but saves you and others real pain later.
See Also: Proverbs 6:12-14 (a wicked person winketh with his eyes); Psalm 35:19 (let them not wink with the eye that hate me wrongfully).
10:11KJV The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
B:E Project A righteous person's words are like a well full of life-giving water, but the wicked person's mouth hides violence.
Context: A standalone proverb on speech, echoing verse 6's second line and developing the recurring theme that what you say either nourishes or harms others.
Meaning: A "well of life" is a source people can keep coming back to and be refreshed by - the image suggests speech that genuinely sustains and helps others over time. In sharp contrast, violent speech poisons rather than nourishes whoever it touches.
Lesson: Ask yourself whether your words are a well people want to keep coming back to, or something they need to guard themselves against. I want your voice to be a source of life for the people around you.
See Also: John 4:14 (a well of water springing up into everlasting life); Proverbs 18:21 (death and life are in the power of the tongue).
10:12KJV Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
B:E Project Hatred stirs up conflict, but love overlooks wrongs.
Context: A standalone proverb on relationships, one of the most frequently echoed lines in the whole Bible - the contrast between hatred that provokes and love that forgives.
Meaning: Hatred looks for reasons to fight and keeps old wounds alive; love does the opposite, choosing to let go of offences rather than dwell on them. This isn't about pretending wrong never happened, but about not letting grievances become the fuel for ongoing conflict.
Lesson: When someone wrongs you, you get to choose whether that becomes a reason to fight or a chance to forgive - I'm asking you to choose forgiveness, because it's the only thing that actually ends the cycle. Love doesn't ignore the wrong; it simply refuses to let it win.
See Also: 1 Peter 4:8 (charity shall cover the multitude of sins); James 5:20 (he which converteth a sinner shall hide a multitude of sins).
10:13KJV In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
B:E Project Wisdom is found in the words of someone with understanding, but a person who lacks sense earns himself a beating.
Context: A standalone proverb contrasting the fruit of understanding, wise speech, with the consequences of lacking it, reflecting the blunt, practical discipline culture of the ancient world.
Meaning: This verse reflects an older, blunt cultural context where physical correction was the expected response to persistent foolishness - the deeper principle is that actions and choices carry consequences suited to them. Wisdom produces something valuable, good words; its absence invites hard correction.
Lesson: I care more about the wisdom growing in you than about punishment for its own sake - painful consequences exist to wake us up, not to define us. Let correction, however it comes, be something that teaches rather than something that just hurts.
See Also: Proverbs 26:3 (a rod for the fool's back); Hebrews 12:11 (no chastening seems joyous, but grievous, yet it yields fruit).
10:14KJV Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
B:E Project Wise people store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites disaster.
Context: A standalone proverb continuing the wise-speech-versus-foolish-speech theme, this time framed around what's patiently gathered against what's carelessly blurted out.
Meaning: There's a contrast between patient accumulation and careless output. The wise person builds up understanding over time, deliberately; the fool, by contrast, speaks without that reserve of thought behind them, and it gets them into trouble.
Lesson: Take time to actually learn and think before you speak - a stocked mind makes for better words. I'd rather you build something slowly and speak wisely than blurt out whatever's on the surface.
See Also: Proverbs 18:7 (a fool's mouth is his destruction); Proverbs 15:2 (the tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright).
10:15KJV The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
B:E Project A rich person's wealth is like a fortified city protecting them; a poor person's poverty is what wrecks them.
Context: A standalone, realistic observation on how money functions as protection in a fallen world, not an endorsement so much as an honest description of how wealth and poverty actually operate.
Meaning: This verse describes reality plainly: money genuinely buys security and options, while poverty leaves people exposed to danger and hardship that wealthier people can simply pay their way around. Proverbs elsewhere balances this by warning the rich not to trust wealth completely and by commanding generosity towards the poor.
Lesson: If you have resources, remember they're not just protection for you - they're a chance to be a shelter for someone who has none. I notice the poor more than the world does; don't let what you have make you blind to what someone else lacks.
See Also: Proverbs 18:11 (the rich man's wealth is his strong city, in his own conceit); Proverbs 14:31 (he that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker).
10:16KJV The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.
B:E Project What the righteous work for leads to life; what the wicked produce leads to sin.
Context: A standalone proverb on the direction of effort - where righteous labour and wicked labour ultimately end up.
Meaning: The same word for effort or fruit can describe very different trajectories depending on who's doing the work. Effort isn't neutral; it's always heading somewhere, and the direction is set by the character behind it.
Lesson: Ask not just how hard you're working but what your work is actually building towards. I want the effort you pour into your days to be growing something life-giving, not feeding a cycle that only leads back to harm.
See Also: Galatians 6:8 (he that soweth to the flesh shall reap corruption); Romans 6:22 (being made free from sin, ye have your fruit unto holiness).
10:17KJV He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.
B:E Project Whoever holds onto instruction is on the path of life, but whoever rejects correction goes astray.
Context: A standalone proverb on the value of receiving correction, continuing the chapter's repeated theme of teachability seen already in verses 8 and 13.
Meaning: Being open to instruction actively keeps you on a good path; refusing correction isn't neutral, it's the very thing that causes you to wander off course. The verse frames correction not as an obstacle but as the guardrail keeping you on the road.
Lesson: Don't treat correction as an insult - treat it as a guardrail keeping you from drifting somewhere you don't want to end up. I send people and moments into your life to help you course-correct because I want you to stay on the path that leads to life.
See Also: Proverbs 12:1 (whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge); Hebrews 12:5-6 (despise not the chastening of the Lord).
10:18KJV He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
B:E Project Whoever hides hatred behind lying words, and whoever spreads slander, is a fool.
Context: A standalone proverb on hypocrisy and gossip, naming two related sins: pretending not to hate someone, and actively spreading harmful talk about them.
Meaning: This verse targets two-facedness specifically - smiling to someone's face while secretly resenting or badmouthing them. Both fake friendliness covering real hatred and open slander are called out as foolish, because both damage trust and relationships in the end.
Lesson: Be honest about how you feel rather than faking warmth while quietly working against someone. If you have a grievance, bring it into the open with love, rather than letting it curdle into gossip behind their back.
See Also: Leviticus 19:17 (thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart); Ephesians 4:25 (put away lying, speak every man truth).
10:19KJV In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
B:E Project Talk too much and sin is bound to slip in somewhere; whoever holds their tongue is wise.
Context: A standalone proverb warning specifically about the sheer volume of speech, distinct from earlier verses that focus on the content or tone of speech.
Meaning: This isn't about never speaking - it's a statistical observation that the more you talk, the more chances you give yourself to say something careless, unkind, or untrue. Restraint in speech is presented here as a form of practical wisdom, not shyness.
Lesson: You don't have to fill every silence or have an opinion on everything - some of the wisest moments are the ones where you simply don't speak. Give yourself permission to hold your tongue; it protects both you and the people listening.
See Also: James 1:19 (let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak); Proverbs 17:27-28 (he that hath knowledge spareth his words).
10:20KJV The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
B:E Project The words of a righteous person are like top-quality silver; the heart of a wicked person is worth almost nothing.
Context: A standalone proverb using a metalworking image - refined, precious silver versus cheap, worthless material - to contrast the value of righteous speech with the emptiness of a wicked heart.
Meaning: Good, honest speech has real, lasting value, like a precious metal that's been refined and purified. A wicked heart, by contrast, might produce plenty of talk, but underneath it there's nothing of real worth - the imagery invites you to ask what your own words are actually made of.
Lesson: Let your words carry real weight and value, refined by honesty rather than cheapened by carelessness or manipulation. I want what comes from your heart to be something genuinely precious, not something that only looks shiny on the surface.
See Also: Psalm 12:6 (the words of the LORD are pure words, as silver tried); Proverbs 25:11 (a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold).
10:21KJV The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
B:E Project The words of the righteous nourish many people, but fools die for lack of wisdom.
Context: A standalone proverb continuing the "well of life" imagery of verse 11, now framing righteous speech as something that feeds a whole community, not just the individual speaker.
Meaning: Good words don't just help the speaker; they genuinely sustain other people, like food shared around. Meanwhile, refusing wisdom isn't a small, private failing - Proverbs treats it here as something that can genuinely cost you your life.
Lesson: What you say has the power to nourish people far beyond yourself, so use your words generously to build others up. And take the pursuit of wisdom seriously - it isn't optional decoration on a life, it's essential to it.
See Also: John 6:33 (the bread of God is he which giveth life unto the world); Hosea 4:6 (my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge).
10:22KJV The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
B:E Project It's God's blessing that brings true wealth, and he doesn't add any sorrow along with it.
Context: A standalone proverb offering a contrast to nearby verses about hard-won or wrongfully-gained wealth - here the emphasis shifts to blessing as an unburdened gift.
Meaning: This verse distinguishes wealth that comes as blessing, clean and unburdened, from wealth gained through anxiety, exploitation, or deceit, which typically carries hidden costs and grief. True prosperity, this suggests, doesn't leave you more anxious or guilty than before you had it.
Lesson: Notice the difference between gain that leaves you lighter and gain that leaves you heavier with worry or guilt - one is a genuine blessing, the other rarely is. I want good things for you that you can actually enjoy without a shadow attached.
See Also: 1 Timothy 6:9-10 (they that will be rich fall into temptation); James 1:17 (every good gift is from above).
10:23KJV It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.
B:E Project A fool finds doing wrong entertaining, like a game; a person of understanding finds wisdom instead.
Context: A standalone proverb contrasting what different kinds of people find enjoyable - mischief as amusement for the fool, wisdom as the genuine pursuit of the sensible person.
Meaning: What you find fun reveals your character. Someone who's lost their moral bearings can treat causing harm as entertainment, almost a game, while a person with real understanding takes pleasure in wisdom itself rather than in wrongdoing.
Lesson: Pay attention to what actually entertains you - it says something true about where your heart is. I want you to find genuine joy in doing good, not a thrill in cutting corners or hurting someone for a laugh.
See Also: Proverbs 14:9 (fools make a mock at sin); Romans 1:32 (having pleasure in them that do wrong).
10:24KJV The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
B:E Project What the wicked person dreads will happen to him; what the righteous person longs for will be given to them.
Context: A standalone proverb on the eventual fate of both groups - what each secretly fears or hopes for, and how it plays out.
Meaning: There's a kind of poetic justice at work here: the wicked person's own anxieties end up catching up with them, while the righteous person's genuine longings are eventually fulfilled. It suggests that a life built on wrongdoing is inherently unstable, always bracing for the thing it dreads.
Lesson: Living rightly frees you from the constant dread of being found out or of things falling apart around your own choices. I want your deepest longings, the good ones, to actually come true - not to be crowded out by fear.
See Also: Job 3:25 (the thing I greatly feared is come upon me); Psalm 37:4 (delight thyself in the LORD and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart).
10:25KJV As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
B:E Project When a storm blows through, the wicked person disappears with it, but the righteous person stands like a foundation that lasts forever.
Context: A standalone proverb using weather imagery - a violent but temporary whirlwind - to contrast the wicked's fleeting existence with the enduring stability of the righteous.
Meaning: Wickedness might look powerful and dramatic in the moment, like a fierce storm, but it passes and leaves nothing behind. Righteousness, by contrast, is compared to something structural and lasting - a foundation that holds up over time, long after the storm has gone.
Lesson: Don't be dazzled by things that look dramatic and powerful in the moment - ask instead what actually lasts. I want to build your life on something that stands firm long after the noise has passed.
See Also: Matthew 7:24-27 (the wise and foolish builders); Psalm 1:4-6 (the wicked are like chaff which the wind driveth away).
10:26KJV As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.
B:E Project Like vinegar sets your teeth on edge and smoke stings your eyes, that's what a lazy person is like to whoever sends him to do a job.
Context: A standalone proverb using two vivid sensory images of irritation to describe the frustration of relying on a lazy person to get something done.
Meaning: The images are deliberately unpleasant and physical - the point is visceral, not abstract. Depending on someone unreliable isn't just mildly annoying; Proverbs compares it to a genuinely irritating physical sensation, emphasising just how frustrating laziness is to everyone around it.
Lesson: Think about how it feels to be relied on, and be someone others can actually send to do something without dread. I'd rather your reliability be a relief to people than a source of constant irritation.
See Also: Proverbs 25:19 (confidence in an unfaithful man is like a broken tooth); Proverbs 6:6-9 (go to the ant, thou sluggard).
10:27KJV The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
B:E Project Taking God seriously adds years to your life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
Context: A standalone proverb returning to the "fear of the LORD" theme introduced in chapters 1 and 9, now connecting it explicitly to lifespan, echoing 9:11.
Meaning: This restates a recurring practical claim in Proverbs: a life oriented around genuine reverence and right living tends towards longevity, while a reckless or wicked life tends to shorten itself through its own consequences - violence, excess, poor choices catching up with a person.
Lesson: The way you live really can add or subtract years from your life - reverence and care for how you treat others isn't just spiritually good, it's practically protective. I want you around for a long, full life, not cut short by choices you could have avoided.
See Also: Proverbs 9:11 (by me thy days shall be multiplied); Exodus 20:12 (honour thy parents that thy days may be long).
10:28KJV The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
B:E Project What the righteous hope for turns into joy; what the wicked expect comes to nothing.
Context: A standalone proverb on the eventual outcome of hope, closely paired thematically with verse 24's contrast of desires fulfilled versus fears realised.
Meaning: Hope grounded in righteous living has real substance and eventually pays off in genuine gladness. The wicked person's expectations, by contrast, however confident they might feel, ultimately collapse to nothing - their hope was built on something that couldn't hold.
Lesson: Root your hope in something that can actually bear its weight - a life of integrity gives you a hope that doesn't collapse when tested. I want you to be able to hope confidently, not anxiously, because what you're hoping in is real.
See Also: Romans 5:5 (hope maketh not ashamed); Job 8:13-14 (the hypocrite's hope shall perish).
10:29KJV The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
B:E Project Living God's way gives strength to those who do right, but it spells ruin for people who do wrong.
Context: A standalone proverb describing "the way of the LORD", the path of right living, as protective for the righteous and destructive for the wicked, using the road-and-path metaphor common throughout Proverbs.
Meaning: The same path produces opposite effects depending on who's walking it and how - it strengthens those aligned with it, while it exposes and ultimately ruins those working against it. It's a reminder that trying to fight against a good, well-ordered way of living tends to backfire.
Lesson: Align your life with what's good and true, and you'll find it actually holds you up rather than wearing you down. Working against your own conscience and against love eventually costs more than it gains - let the good way be your strength, not your struggle.
See Also: Psalm 27:1 (the LORD is my strength); Proverbs 21:15 (destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity).
10:30KJV The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
B:E Project The righteous will never be shaken loose, but the wicked won't get to stay in the land.
Context: A standalone proverb on permanence versus displacement, closing out a run of verses (25, 28-30) about the ultimate stability of righteous living compared with the impermanence of wickedness.
Meaning: There's a promise of rootedness here - a life built on integrity has a lasting, settled quality that can't easily be uprooted, while wrongdoing, however established it looks, ultimately doesn't get to stay. It echoes Psalm 1's image of a tree planted by water versus chaff blown away.
Lesson: Build your life on something that can't be shaken loose by circumstance - integrity gives you roots that hold. I want you settled and secure, not scattered by every wind that a dishonest life eventually meets.
See Also: Psalm 37:9 (evildoers shall be cut off, but those that wait upon the LORD shall inherit the earth); Matthew 5:5 (blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth).
10:31KJV The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
B:E Project The words of a righteous person produce wisdom, but a twisted, deceitful tongue will be silenced.
Context: A standalone proverb returning again to the theme of speech, contrasting productive, wise words with a tongue bent towards perversity or dishonesty.
Meaning: Righteous speech is described as generative - it "brings forth," produces something useful. A "froward" or twisted tongue, one that deliberately distorts truth, faces the opposite fate: eventually being cut off, silenced, unable to keep doing the damage it was doing.
Lesson: Let your words be something that grows good into the world rather than twisting truth for your own advantage. I want your voice to keep producing life for as long as you have breath to speak.
See Also: Proverbs 4:24 (put away a froward mouth); James 3:6-10 (the tongue is a fire, an unruly evil).
10:32KJV The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.
B:E Project A righteous person's words know what's fitting to say, but a wicked person's mouth speaks only twisted, perverse things.
Context: The closing verse of chapter 10, rounding off the chapter's heavy emphasis on speech (seen in verses 6, 8, 10-11, 13-14, 18-21 and 31) with a final contrast between fitting, well-judged words and corrupt ones.
Meaning: This closes the chapter by highlighting discernment in speech - knowing not just what's true but what's appropriate to say, when, and how. It's a fitting bookend to a chapter obsessed with the tongue: wisdom isn't just about having good things to say, but about the judgement to say the right thing at the right time.
Lesson: Ask not only "is this true" but "is this the right thing to say right now" - real wisdom includes timing and tact, not just honesty. I want your words to fit the moment with care, so they land as the gift they're meant to be.
See Also: Proverbs 15:23 (a word spoken in due season, how good is it); Ecclesiastes 3:7 (a time to keep silence, and a time to speak).