Proverbs 15:27

Greed destroys households, but integrity preserves life.

To warn that dishonest gain brings disruption and ruin to one's household while integrity toward corrupt profit preserves life.

Proverbs 15 belongs to a collection of contrasting sayings that repeatedly place the righteous and the wicked side by side, showing the outcomes each path tends to produce. The immediate neighborhood addresses what the LORD regards (v.26), what destroys or builds (v.25), and how the inner life shapes speech and action (v.28). Verse 27 focuses on economic and judicial integrity, bringing household consequences into view: the greedy person harms not only himself but his entire house. The second line presents a moral posture—hating bribes—rather than merely a single act, emphasizing settled opposition to corrupt advantage. In the flow of Proverbs, “life” is a wisdom category for preservation, stability, and flourishing under God’s moral governance rather than a mechanical guarantee of immediate prosperity. This saying therefore contributes to the chapter’s repeated theme: righteousness stabilizes, wickedness disrupts, and the LORD’s order stands behind these outcomes.