It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. Without knowledge it is not good to have zeal, For high strung emotions will common sense steal. Running like crazy when going the wrong way, Will not lead to success at the end of the day.

1. Proverbs 19 In Poetry
By Glenn Pease
1 Better a poor man whose walk is blameless
than a fool whose lips are perverse.
Better is the poor man with a blameless walk,
Than the fool who has much of blameworthy talk.
For the poor man is rich with God's favor;
A pleasant dish the fool will never savor.
2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge,
nor to be hasty and miss the way.
Without knowledge it is not good to have zeal,
For high strung emotions will common sense steal.
Running like crazy when going the wrong way,
Will not lead to success at the end of the day.
3 A man's own folly ruins his life,
yet his heart rages against the LORD.
Men are always doing many stupid things,
And they lead to great pains and sufferings,
But rather than admit their folly is to blame,
They in anger rage, and curse God's holy name.
Their thinking is false, and their logic is lame,
For it leads them to do what is such a shame,
As they in rebellion God's nature defame.
4 Wealth brings many friends,
but a poor man's friend deserts him.
Get rich, and soon many friends will follow.
Lose it all, and see how their friendship was hollow.
Money, no doubt, will draw many to your side,
But they will quickly desert without the free ride.

2. 5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who pours out lies will not go free.
A false witness may tell many lies in court,
And get by with it, like he was just playing a sport.
But his clever deception, God will one day abort,
And will this habitual liar to the pit of hell escort.
6 Many curry favor with a ruler,
and everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts.
There is not a day goes by, and not even an hour
When men do not seek to befriend those in power,
For we always enjoy such a person, whatever his flavor,
For he has the gifts that we need, and can do us a favor.
7 A poor man is shunned by all his relatives—
how much more do his friends avoid him!
Though he pursues them with pleading,
they are nowhere to be found.
Thank heavens this proverb is not always true,
And many a poor man gets the respect he is due,
But unfortunately, this proverb does often play out,
And he gets no attention however loud he may shout.
8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul;
he who cherishes understanding prospers.
Self love, often looked at as a sin or a crime,
Is really something we should be doing all of the time,
For he who gets wisdom loves his own soul,
And this should be our perpetual goal.

3. 9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who pours out lies will perish.
You can sit in court and tell a lie,
But only a fool thinks he can get by,
For there is a judge in heaven on high,
And nothing escapes his all seeing eye;
The false witness will be judged, and he will die.
10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—
how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
The fool is out of place in the lap of luxury,
And a slave ruling princes none ought to ever see.
Fools and slaves have their proper place,
But in royal circles they are a disgrace.
11 A man's wisdom gives him patience;
it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
A man of wisdom has learned how to wait,
So he does not have to quickly retaliate,
For he can overlook an offense,
And not in pride lash out in defense.
The fact is, this is to his glory,
For it will change the end of the story.
12 A king's rage is like the roar of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
The kings rage is like a lion's roar,
So learning to avoid it is a worthwhile chore,
But on the other hand, don't let his favor pass,
For it is as refreshing as the dew on the grass.

4. 13 A foolish son is his father's ruin,
and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
It can be accepted as a universal rule
That no father is happy when his son is a fool,
And no husband will be found outside skipping
When his quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
You can inherit from parents many things in life,
But only the good Lord can give you a prudent wife.
Mom and dad can give you money and house,
But God gives the best when he give you this spouse.
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless man goes hungry.
The lazy man spends much time in deep sleep,
So much so that his whole house lacks upkeep.
He goes to find something to eat in the cupboard,
And he finds it as empty as that of old mother Hubbard.
16 He who obeys instructions guards his life,
but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.
He who obeys instructions guards his life,
But he who disobeys, to his throat holds a knife.
He resists all advice, “I will do it my way” is his cry,
And he will travel the way of folly, and he will die.
17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,
and he will reward him for what he has done.

5. To withhold from the poor you cannot afford,
For giving to them is like a lend to the Lord.
When kind to the poor, you're with God in one accord,
And such kindness the Lord will greatly reward.
18 Discipline your son, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to his death.
Discipline your son and fear not the pain,
For in the long run it will prove to be gain.
The hurt he feels will make him choose a better way;
You will not be guilty of letting him on a deadly path stay.
19 A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty;
if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.
A man who loses his temper is always saying “sorry!”
If you let him off the hook, it will be the same story,
For his hot temper will again bring him to defeat,
And over and over again he will this same folly repeat.
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
and in the end you will be wise.
If you want to add to your life some spice,
Just accept guidance, and listen to advice,
For on this you can with certainty depend,
You will definitely be wiser in the end.
21 Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
In a man's heart there are many plans,
But the Lord determines which of them stands.
We don't understand why our plan so often fails,
But the answer is, the purpose of the Lord prevails.

6. 22 What a man desires is unfailing love;
better to be poor than a liar.
Unfailing love is what a man desires,
And God loves the poor rather than liars.
Some people get rich by telling lies,
But unfailing love from such people flies.
23 The fear of the LORD leads to life:
Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
The fear of the Lord leads to life well spent,
And in such a life one can rest content,
For they avoid so much of life's trouble.
Those who fear Him not have trouble that is double.
24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
The lazy man buries his hand in the dish,
And getting it back to his mouth is his wish,
But he is so lazy lying flat on his back
That he won't move his hand to taste of his snack.
25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke a discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.
Believe it or not, pain can be a vital part of learning;
Pain on the body and mind will motivate the discerning.
A flogging or rebuke can be like going to college,
For it will lead the wise to press on to gain knowledge.
26 He who robs his father and drives out his mother
is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

7. Here is the man we would all like to smother,
For he robs his dad and kicks out his mother.
Such a scoundrel is a great shame and disgrace;
He gives a bad name to the whole human race.
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
When a son stops listening to instruction,
He is on a dangerous path with this introduction.
He is just like the son who drops out of college,
And he will stray away from words of knowledge.
28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
So often in life we see no health and no fitness,
And such is the case with a mocking false witness.
He mocks at justice, and evil he gulps down,
And not one healthy bone in him can be found.
29 Penalties are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.
Penalties are for mockers prepared,
And so the mocker has reason to be scared.
Beatings are also ready for the backs of fools,
For they are never willing to use wisdom's tools.