Character and Community: An Easy English Bible Study on Proverbs 11:1-15

This Bible study series uses simple words so everyone can understand and grow in faith. It is perfect for ESL students, homeschool children, families, and anyone who enjoys studying the Bible in easy English.

Copyright Notice: All lessons and printables on this website are protected by copyright. You are welcome to download and print them for free for personal use, small groups, or Bible classes. You may share a link to this page, but please do not sell these materials or copy this content to other websites.

Printable ERV Passage

Complete Set Of Worksheets

Discussion Questions

Theological Insights

10-Word Vocabulary List

20-Word Vocabulary list

Vocabulary Match Worksheet

Grammar Worksheet

Opposites Worksheet

Fill in the Blank Worksheet

Prayer Journal

Bible Translation Comparison Journal

Answer Keys

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Think of a time someone said something very kind to you.
How did those words make you feel?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson we will see how God wants us to make honest choices and use our words to help others. We will learn how pride leads to trouble, but wisdom and humility bring peace to our lives and our communities.

Vocabulary Lists for the ERV Bible Translation

Beginner level: Start with the Key Vocabulary Words (10 words) or check the A1 & A2 Level Lists for basic words.
Intermediate level: Look at the Important Words to Know (20 words) or practice with the B1 & B2 Level Lists.
Advanced level: Challenge yourself with the C1 & C2 Level Lists to learn higher-level vocabulary from this lesson.
All learners: Read the Bible passage! Use the Complete Lesson Word Bank (52 words) to look up any word you need.

Key Vocabulary Words (10 words)

City (noun): A large town where many people live together.
Die (verb): To stop living.
Happy (adjective): Feeling or showing joy and pleasure.
Honest (adjective): Telling the truth and not lying or stealing.
Joy (noun): A very strong feeling of happiness.
Leader (noun): A person who guides or rules a group of people.
Lie (verb): To say something that is not true.
Neighbor (noun): A person who lives near you or around you.
Safe (adjective): Free from danger or harm.
Wise (adjective): Having good judgment and knowing what is right.

Important Words to Know (20 words)

City (noun): A large town where many people live together.
Death (noun): The end of life.
Destroy (verb): To break something completely so it cannot be fixed.
Die (verb): To stop living.
Escape (verb): To get away from a dangerous or bad place.
Evil (adjective): Very bad, harmful, or morally wrong.
False (adjective): Not true or not real.
Happy (adjective): Feeling or showing joy and pleasure.
Hate (verb): To dislike someone or something very much.
Honest (adjective): Telling the truth and not lying or stealing.
Humble (adjective): Not thinking you are better than other people.
Joy (noun): A very strong feeling of happiness.
Leader (noun): A person who guides or rules a group of people.
Lie (verb): To say something that is not true.
Neighbor (noun): A person who lives near you or around you.
Proud (adjective): Thinking you are better or more important than others.
Safe (adjective): Free from danger or harm.
Save (verb): To rescue someone from danger or death.
Wicked (adjective): Bad, sinful, and doing wrong things.
Wise (adjective): Having good judgment and knowing what is right.

Leveled Vocabulary Words (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2)

A1 Vocabulary Words (Beginner) (6 words)

City (noun): A large town where many people live together.
Great (adjective): Very big, strong, or wonderful.
Happy (adjective): Feeling or showing joy and pleasure.
Hate (verb): To dislike someone or something very much.
Quiet (adjective): Making very little noise or not talking much.
Sorry (adjective): Feeling sad about a mistake you made.

A2 Vocabulary Words (Elementary) (14 words)

Death (noun): The end of life.
Destroy (verb): To break something completely so it cannot be fixed.
Die (verb): To stop living.
Guide (verb): To show someone the right way to go.
Honest (adjective): Telling the truth and not lying or stealing.
Hopes (noun): Good things that you wish or want to happen.
Leader (noun): A person who guides or rules a group of people.
Lie (verb): To say something that is not true.
Neighbor (noun): A person who lives near you or around you.
Safe (adjective): Free from danger or harm.
Save (verb): To rescue someone from danger or death.
Shout (verb): To speak or call out with a very loud voice.
Stranger (noun): Someone that you do not know.
Trouble (noun): A hard or dangerous time.

B1 Vocabulary Words (Intermediate) (14 words)

Accurate (adjective): Correct and true.
Advisor (noun): Someone who gives good help or ideas to others.
Cheat (verb): To act in a way that is not honest to get what you want.
Escape (verb): To get away from a dangerous or bad place.
Face (verb): To meet or deal with a hard problem.
False (adjective): Not true or not real.
Joy (noun): A very strong feeling of happiness!
Nation (noun): A country with its own people and government.
Proud (adjective): Thinking you are better or more important than others.
Punishment (noun): A bad thing that happens to someone because they did something wrong.
Refuse (verb): To say no to something or to say you will not do it.
Scale (noun): A tool used to weigh things.
Stupid (adjective): Making poor choices or not using good sense.
Successful (adjective): Having things go well or doing good work.

B2 Vocabulary Words (Upper-Intermediate) (11 words)

Blessings (noun): Good things that make life better or bring happiness!
Debt (noun): Money that you owe to someone else.
Evil (adjective): Very bad, harmful, or morally wrong.
Greed (noun): Wanting a lot more money or things than you need.
Modest (adjective): Quiet and not showing off what you have or can do.
Ruin (verb): To hurt or break something so it is no longer good.
Trapped (verb): Caught in a bad place and unable to get out.
Trusted (verb): Believed to be good, honest, and reliable.
Weights (noun): Heavy objects used on a scale to measure how heavy something is.
Wisdom (noun): Understanding what is true and right to make good choices.
Wise (adjective): Having good judgment and knowing what is right.

C1 Vocabulary Words (Advanced) (6 words)

Boastful (adjective): Talking too much about how great you think you are.
Crooks (noun): People who lie, steal, or break the law.
Humble (adjective): Not thinking you are better than other people.
Shamed (verb): Made to feel bad about something wrong that you did.
Wicked (adjective): Bad, sinful, and doing wrong things.
Worthless (adjective): Having no value or use.

C2 Vocabulary Words (Proficient) (1 word)

Hypocrite (noun): A person who acts like they are good but does bad things when no one sees.

Complete Lesson Word Bank (52 words)

Accurate (adjective): Correct and true.
Advisor (noun): Someone who gives good help or ideas to others.
Blessings (noun): Good things that make life better or bring happiness.
Boastful (adjective): Talking too much about how great you think you are.
Cheat (verb): To act in a way that is not honest to get what you want.
City (noun): A large town where many people live together.
Crooks (noun): People who lie, steal, or break the law.
Death (noun): The end of life.
Debt (noun): Money that you owe to someone else.
Destroy (verb): To break something completely so it cannot be fixed.
Die (verb): To stop living.
Escape (verb): To get away from a dangerous or bad place.
Evil (adjective): Very bad, harmful, or morally wrong.
Face (verb): To meet or deal with a hard problem.
False (adjective): Not true or not real.
Great (adjective): Very big, strong, or wonderful.
Greed (noun): Wanting a lot more money or things than you need.
Guide (verb): To show someone the right way to go.
Happy (adjective): Feeling or showing joy and pleasure.
Hate (verb): To dislike someone or something very much.
Honest (adjective): Telling the truth and not lying or stealing.
Hopes (noun): Good things that you wish or want to happen.
Humble (adjective): Not thinking you are better than other people.
Hypocrite (noun): A person who acts like they are good but does bad things when no one sees.
Joy (noun): A very strong feeling of happiness.
Leader (noun): A person who guides or rules a group of people.
Lie (verb): To say something that is not true.
Modest (adjective): Quiet and not showing off what you have or can do.
Nation (noun): A country with its own people and government.
Neighbor (noun): A person who lives near you or around you.
Proud (adjective): Thinking you are better or more important than others.
Punishment (noun): A bad thing that happens to someone because they did something wrong.
Quiet (adjective): Making very little noise or not talking much.
Refuse (verb): To say no to something or to say you will not do it.
Ruin (verb): To hurt or break something so it is no longer good.
Safe (adjective): Free from danger or harm.
Save (verb): To rescue someone from danger or death.
Scale (noun): A tool used to weigh things.
Shamed (verb): Made to feel bad about something wrong that you did.
Shout (verb): To speak or call out with a very loud voice.
Sorry (adjective): Feeling sad about a mistake you made.
Stranger (noun): Someone that you do not know.
Stupid (adjective): Making poor choices or not using good sense.
Successful (adjective): Having things go well or doing good work.
Trapped (verb): Caught in a bad place and unable to get out.
Trouble (noun): A hard or dangerous time.
Trusted (verb): Believed to be good, honest, and reliable.
Weights (noun): Heavy objects used on a scale to measure how heavy something is.
Wicked (adjective): Bad, sinful, and doing wrong things.
Wisdom (noun): Understanding what is true and right to make good choices.
Wise (adjective): Having good judgment and knowing what is right.
Worthless (adjective): Having no value or use.

Summary of the Passage

The Bible book of Proverbs is a collection of short, wise sayings. A proverb is a short statement that gives helpful advice about how to live well. The main purpose of this book is to teach people how to make good, peaceful choices every day. Many of these sayings were written by King Solomon. Solomon was a famous king of ancient Israel, a country in history where God’s people lived long ago. He was known for his great wisdom, which means using good judgment to make smart and right choices. When God promised to give Solomon whatever he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom to guide his people well instead of asking for money or power.

Proverbs 11:1–15 shows us how our everyday choices affect our lives and the people around us. God cares about honesty and justice in everything we do. He wants us to be fair, honest, and humble. Being humble means not thinking you are better or more important than other people. Pride leads to shame, while choosing to do what is right brings true safety and peace. God protects and delivers good people when they face trouble. People who lie, cheat, steal, or make foolish promises bring trouble and ruin upon themselves. When bad people die, all their selfish hopes are completely lost. Money cannot protect anyone from God’s judgment, which is his decision about what is right and wrong in our lives. Money cannot save anyone from death.

Our words are also very powerful. Speaking meanly or telling secrets can hurt our neighbors and harm an entire community, which is a group of people living together in the same town. On the other hand, kind and truthful words help everyone feel safe. Wise choices and good leaders bring happiness, safety, and joy to the whole city.

Read The Passage

Most English learners should use the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), or the Good News Translation (GNT). If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions.

¹ The Lord hates false scales, but he loves accurate weights.
²Proud and boastful people will be shamed, but wisdom stays with those who are modest and humble.
³Good people are guided by their honesty, but crooks who lie and cheat will ruin themselves.
⁴Money is worthless when you face God’s punishment, but living right will save you from death.
⁵Doing right makes life better for those who are good, but the wicked are destroyed by their own wicked ways.
⁶Doing right sets honest people free, but people who can’t be trusted are trapped by their greed.
⁷When the wicked die, all their hopes are lost; everything they thought they could do comes to nothing.
⁸Good people escape from trouble, but the wicked come along and are trapped by it.
⁹With their words hypocrites can destroy their neighbors. But with what they know, good people can escape.
¹⁰When good people are successful, the whole city is happy, and they all shout with joy when evil people are destroyed.
¹¹Blessings from the honest people living in a city will make it great, but the things evil people say can destroy it.
¹²Stupid people say bad things about their neighbors. Wise people know to be quiet.
¹³People who tell secrets about others cannot be trusted. Those who can be trusted keep quiet.
¹⁴A nation without wise leaders will fall. Many good advisors make a nation safe.
¹⁵You will be sorry if you promise to pay a stranger’s debt. Refuse to make such promises and you will be safe.
Proverbs 11:1-15 (ERV)

Very Easy: Easy-to-Read Version: Proverbs 11:1-15 (ERV)
Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Proverbs 11:1-15 (NIRV)
Easy: Good News Translation: Proverbs 11:1-15 (GNT)
Medium: New Living Translation: Proverbs 11:1-15 (NLT)
Hard: New International Version: Proverbs 11:1-15 (NIV)
Very Hard: English Standard Version: Proverbs 11:1-15 (ESV)

Printable ERV Passage

Bible Translation Comparison Journal

Discussion Questions

Choose one proverb that you like.
In that proverb, highlight any words you do not know. Look up their definitions.
What lesson is this proverb trying to teach?
Do you agree or disagree with this lesson?
If you agree, why is this lesson good for people?
If you disagree, why do you disagree?
Does your home culture have a similar proverb or saying? What is it?
Does your home culture have an opposite proverb or saying? What is it?
Repeat questions 1 through 8 for other proverbs you choose!
Looking at all the proverbs, are there any main themes that you notice?

Theological Insights

God cares about honesty and justice in our daily choices and actions.
Pride leads to shame, while humility opens the door to true wisdom.
Doing what is right brings life and peace, but wicked choices destroy a person.
Wealth cannot save anyone from God’s judgment, but righteousness brings eternal safety.
The words we speak have the power to build up or destroy our neighbors.
God protects and delivers good people when they face trouble.
Wise choices and good leaders bring safety, peace, and joy to an entire community.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father
You are wise, fair, and good in all your ways.
We are sorry for the times we have spoken unkind words or made selfish choices.
Thank you for giving us your wisdom to guide us every day.
Please help us to be honest, humble, and kind to everyone around us.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.