Proverbs 10-18

Proverbs 10
1-32 Wise Sayings of Solomon

• A wise child:
• makes a glad father and gathers in summer
• A foolish child:
• is a mother's grief and sleeps in harvest
• The righteous:
• are delivered from death
• do not go hungry
• have blessings on their head
• are remembered well
• heed commandments
• are a fountain of life when they speak
  
• work toward life, heeding instruction
• have tongues of silver
• feed many with their lips
• get their desires granted
• are established forever
• have hopes that end in gladness
• will never be removed
• know the acceptable thing to say and bring forth wisdom

Proverbs 11
Regarding:

• Integrity vs. dishonesty - 1. 3
• Pride vs. humility - 2
• Righteousness vs. wickedness - 4-11, 18-21, 23, 27, 29-31
  
• Discretion vs. a loose tongue - 12-13, 22
  
• Wise counsel vs. no guidance - 14
• Wise vs. foolish use of money - 15
• Grace vs. hatred of virtue - 16
• Aggressiveness vs. timidity - 16
• Kindness vs. cruelty - 17
• Generosity vs. stinginess - 24-26, 28

Proverbs 12
What's good?

• Loving discipline
• A good wife
• The thoughts of the righteous
• Good sense
• Kindness to animals
• Tilling land
• Escaping from trouble
• Listening to advice
• Ignoring insults
• Speaking the truth
• Using words to heal
• Acting faithfully
• Concealing one's knowledge
• Diligence
• Cheerful words
• Giving good advice to friends
• Following the path of righteousness, which leads to life

Proverbs 13
What's bad?

• Scoffing a rebuke
• Desiring wrongdoing
• Opening wide the lips
• Laziness with craving
• Acting shamefully and disgracefully
• Making strife
• Wealth hastily gotten
  
• Despising the word
• Being faithless
• A bad message
• Ignoring instruction
• Not turning away from evil
• Being a companion of fools
• Sparing the rod

Observations about human nature:

• Sin overthrows the wicked
  
• Some pretend to be rich; others pretend to be poor
  
• The poor are not threatened for a ransom
• The lamp of the wicked goes out
• Hope deferred makes the heart sick

Proverbs 14
Regarding fools:

• A foolish woman tears down her house
• Their talk is a rod for their backs
• They do not have words of knowledge
• Their folly is misleading
• They mock at the guilt offering
• [The simple] believe everything
• They throw off restraint and are careless
• Folly is their garland
• They exalt folly with their hasty temper
• They know nothing of wisdom

Regarding the poor:

• They are disliked even by their neighbors. At first this sounds like a criticism of the poor -- it's actually a criticism of their neighbors, because the next verse says:
  
• Happy are those who are kind to the poor.
• Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker.

Regarding industry, money, and government

• Abundant crops come by the strength of the ox
• In toil there is profit -- not in talk.
• The glory of a king is a multitude of people
• Righteousness exalts a nation
• A servant who deals wisely has the king's favor

Familiar proverbs:

• There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death
• Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people

Proverbs 15
Proverbs that catch my attention or are already familiar:

• A soft answer turns away wrath.
• A gentle tongue is a tree of life.
• The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD.
• A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.
• All the days of the poor are hard, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.
• The way of the lazy is overgrown with thorns.
• Folly is a joy to one who has no sense!

Proverbs 16
Again:

• All one's ways may be pure in one's own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.
• Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.
• The human mind plans the way, but the LORD directs the steps.
  
• How much better to get wisdom than gold!
• Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall
• Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
• A whisperer separates close friends.
• Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

Proverbs 17

• A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully.
• Grandchildren are a crown of the aged.
• One who forgives an affront fosters friendship, but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend.
• Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs than to confront a fool immersed in folly.
• The beginning of strife is like letting out water; so stop before the quarrel breaks out.
• One who loves transgression loves strife; one who builds a high threshold invites broken bones.
• Even fools who keep silent are considered wise; when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent.

Proverbs 18

• The mouths of fools are their ruin.
• The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.
• One who is slack in work is close kin to a vandal.
• The human spirit will endure sickness; but a broken spirit--who can bear?
• A gift opens doors; it gives access to the great.
• The one who first states a case seems right, until the other comes and cross-examines.
• Some friends play at friendship but a true friend sticks closer than one's nearest kin.