✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Proverbios 10

VBL · Chapter 10/31

1Los proverbios de Salomón.

2La riqueza que se obtiene de hacer el mal no trae ningún beneficio. Pero vivir con rectitud te salvará de la muerte.

3El Señor no permitirá que los justos sufran hambre; pero impedirá que los malvados logren lo que desean.

4Las manos perezosas te llevarán a la pobreza; pero las manos diligentes te harán rico.

5Un hijo que recoge durante la cosecha del verano es un hijo amoroso; pero el hijo que duerme durante el tiempo de cosecha es un hijo que trae desgracia.

6Los buenos son bendecidos, pero las palabras de los malvados esconden la violencia de su carácter.

7Los Buenos son recordados como una bendición; pero la reputación de los malvados se pudrirá.

8Los que piensan con sabiduría prestan atención al consejo, pero los charlatanes necios terminarán en desastre.

9Las personas honestas viven confiadas, pero los que se comportan con engaño serán atrapados.

10Los que piensan con astucia causan problemas, pero la persona que hace corrección, traerá la paz.

11Las palabras de los justos son una Fuente de vida, pero las palabras de los necios esconden violencia en su carácter.

12El odio causa conflictos, pero el amor cubre todos los errores.

13La sabiduría viene de aquellos con buen juicio. Pero los tontos son castigados con una vara.

14Las personas sabias acumulan conocimiento, pero las palabras del necio charlatán son el principio del desastre.

15La riqueza de los ricos les provee protección, pero la pobreza de los pobres los lleva a la ruina.

16Si haces lo bueno, la vida te recompensará, pero si eres malvado, tu paga será el pecado.

17Si aceptas la instrucción, estarás en el camino de la vida, pero si rechazas la corrección, perderás el rumbo.

18Todo el que oculta su odio miente, y todo el que difama es un tonto.

19Si hablas mucho, te equivocarás. Sé sabio y cuida lo que dices.

20Las palabras de los justos son como la plata más fina, pero la mente de los malvados no vale nada.

21El consejo de las personas justas ayuda a alimentar a muchos, pero los tontos mueren porque no tienen inteligencia.

22La bendición del Señor te traerá riqueza, y la riqueza que te dará no te añadirá tristeza.

23Los tontos creen que hacer el mal es divertido, pero los sabios entienden lo que es recto.

24Lo que el malvado teme, eso le sucederá; pero lo que el justo anhela, le será dado.

25Cuando azote la tormenta, los malvados no sobrevivirán; pero los que hacen el bien estarán salvos y seguros por siempre.

26Así como el vinagre irrita los dientes y el humo irrita los ojos, los perezosos irritan a sus empleadores.

27Honrar al Señor te hará vivir por más tiempo, pero los años del malvado serán cortados.

28Los justos esperan felicidad, pero la esperanza de los malvados se derrumbará.

29El camino del Señor protege a los que hacen el bien, pero destruye a los que hacen el mal.

30Los que hacen el bien nunca serán quitados de la tierra, pero los malvados no permanecerán en ella.

31Las palabras de los Buenos producen sabiduría, pero las lenguas de los mentirosos serán cortadas.

32Los que hacen el bien saben decir lo correcto, pero los malvados siempre mienten.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The great collection of Solomon's short, independent proverbs begins here. The themes repeatedly contrast the righteous with the wicked, the wise with the fool, and the diligent with the lazy.

Explanation

From this chapter on, the book changes style: instead of long discourses from a father to a son, it presents a collection of short, independent sayings, typically arranged in pairs of opposites (antithetical), a Hebrew poetic device called antithetical parallelism. There is no continuous narrative thread among the proverbs: each functions as a pill of wisdom to be meditated on individually, applicable to different situations in everyday life. For chapters like this one, made up of dozens of standalone proverbs with no single theme, the purpose is to offer broad, varied practical wisdom rather than a logical sequence. Today's application: the most fruitful way to read these chapters is usually to meditate on one or two proverbs at a time, applying them to real, specific situations in daily life.

Fun facts

  • The antithetical parallelism ("but") that dominates this chapter — contrasting two opposing ideas in sister lines — is the predominant poetic structure in Proverbs 10 through 15, unlike the synonymous parallelism (similar ideas repeated) more common in other parts of the Hebrew Bible.
  • This chapter marks the beginning of the book's largest section (chapters 10-22:16), traditionally called the "Proverbs of Solomon," containing 375 independent sayings — a number that, according to some rabbinic scholars, corresponds to the numerical value of the letters in the name "Solomon" in Hebrew.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Proverbios 10:1A new collection begins here within the book — chapters 1 through 9 were long speeches from a father to a son, and from this point the text shifts to a very different format: short, independent proverbs, almost always in two contrasting lines. This style lasts through chapter 22.
  2. Proverbios 10:2This contrasts wealth gained by unjust means, which ultimately profits nothing, with integrity, which truly protects life — the proverb notes that ill-gotten money does not buy real security.
  3. Proverbios 10:3This promises that God does not let the righteous fall into extreme need, while He rejects the plans of the wicked — an observation of trust, not an automatic guarantee of riches.
  4. Proverbios 10:4This compares the “slack hand” — lazy and unreliable — with the diligent hand: the practical result of each attitude in daily life is poverty or wealth, depending on the effort applied.
  5. Proverbios 10:5This uses the harvest as a metaphor: gathering in summer, at the right time, is a sign of good sense; sleeping through the harvest, missing the right moment, brings shame on the family.
  6. Proverbios 10:6This contrasts blessing resting on the righteous with violence hidden in the mouth of the wicked — the idea that what a person says and receives reflects the kind of life they lead.
  7. Proverbios 10:7This compares how each is remembered afterward: the memory of the righteous stays good and blessed, but the name of the wicked decays over time, like something rotting.
  8. Proverbios 10:8This contrasts whoever accepts advice — the wise in heart — with whoever talks too much without thinking — the fool of babbling lips — showing that listening well matters as much as speaking.
  9. Proverbios 10:9This compares walking with sincerity, which brings security because there is nothing to hide, with twisting one’s own path, which sooner or later gets exposed.
  10. Proverbios 10:10“Winking with the eye” here is a gesture of manipulation, causing pain to whoever is deceived; and the fool who talks too much also ends up harming himself — both attitudes bring trouble, each in its own way.
  11. Proverbios 10:11This compares the mouth of the righteous, which produces life and helps those who listen, with the mouth of the wicked, which hides violence behind its words — speech reveals what is inside a person.
  12. Proverbios 10:12“Covereth” here does not mean hiding a crime or pretending nothing happened, it is the idea of not dwelling on or spreading someone else’s fault at every turn. The contrast is with hatred, which does the opposite: it reignites old quarrels instead of letting them go.
  13. Proverbios 10:13This contrasts someone with discernment, whose speech already carries wisdom, with someone lacking understanding, who needs harsher correction, like the rod, in order to learn.
  14. Proverbios 10:14This compares the wise, who store up knowledge to use at the right time, with the fool, who speaks without thinking and so is always close to getting into trouble.
  15. Proverbios 10:15This observes how wealth functions as protection for the rich — like a fortified city — while poverty leaves the poor more vulnerable to ruin, a social observation, not praise of wealth.
  16. Proverbios 10:16This compares the final outcome of each kind of work: what the righteous produce leads to life, while what the wicked gain only feeds more sin.
  17. Proverbios 10:17This contrasts whoever accepts correction, staying on the right path of life, with whoever ignores reproof and ends up lost — the difference lies in how each one responds to being corrected.
  18. Proverbios 10:18This compares two forms of wickedness: hiding hatred behind lies, and spreading gossip or slander — both treated as the behavior of a fool.
  19. Proverbios 10:19This observes that talking too much increases the chance of saying something wrong — restraining your own speech is presented as a sign of prudence, not shyness.
  20. Proverbios 10:20This compares the speech of the righteous, valuable like choice silver, with the heart of the wicked, which the text says is worth little — the contrast is about real value of character, not appearance.
  21. Proverbios 10:21This describes the mouth of the righteous as something that sustains and feeds many people, while fools, for lack of discernment, end up destroying themselves.
  22. Proverbios 10:22This observes that true prosperity comes as a blessing from God, without the extra burden of grief that usually accompanies wealth gained by wrong or anxious means.
  23. Proverbios 10:23This compares what each finds entertaining: for the fool, doing wrong is a game with no weight to it; for the person of understanding, the pleasure is in acting wisely.
  24. Proverbios 10:24This observes that what the wicked fear most ends up finding them, while the righteous person’s desire is fulfilled — a way of saying each one reaps what they were sowing inside.
  25. Proverbios 10:25This compares the wicked passing away, quick and destructive like a storm that leaves nothing behind, with the righteous, who have a solid, lasting foundation.
  26. Proverbios 10:26Vinegar on the teeth and smoke in the eyes are two thoroughly unpleasant, immediate physical sensations — the proverb uses these two sensory images to describe the irritation of relying on a lazy worker for a task. It is an unusual comparison because it appeals to the body, not to morality.
  27. Proverbios 10:27This observes that living with respect for God tends to lengthen life, while the path of the wicked, in the book’s reasoning, tends to shorten one’s own days.
  28. Proverbios 10:28This contrasts the hope of the righteous, which results in real joy, with the expectation of the wicked, which in the end goes unfulfilled and disappears.
  29. Proverbios 10:29This compares how the same way of the Lord can be a fortress for whoever acts rightly and ruin for whoever practices injustice — the outcome depends on how the person positions themselves before it.
  30. Proverbios 10:30This contrasts the lasting stability of the righteous with the rootlessness of the wicked, who in the end cannot hold their ground — repeating the theme of stability already seen in chapter 2.
  31. Proverbios 10:31This compares the mouth of the righteous, which continually produces wisdom, with the perverse tongue, which the text says will be cut out at the root — an image of permanent removal.
  32. Proverbios 10:32The chapter closes by comparing lips that know how to say the right thing at the right time with a mouth full of perversity — the difference is not only what is said, but the care taken in knowing when and how to say it.

Chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play