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19 
A brother offended is harder to win over than a fortified city,
And contentions [separating families] are like the bars of a castle.
20 
A man’s stomach will be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth;
He will be satisfied with the consequence of his words.
21 
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.(A)
22 
He who finds a [[a]true and faithful] wife finds a good thing
And obtains favor and approval from the Lord.(B)
23 
The poor man pleads,
But the rich man answers roughly.
24 
The man of too many friends [chosen indiscriminately] will be broken in pieces and come to ruin,
But there is a [true, loving] friend who [is reliable and] sticks closer than a brother.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:22 In Jewish tradition it is said that in Israel, they used to ask a man who had married, “Matsa or motse?” “Matsa” is the Hebrew for “finds” here, where a good wife is in view, and “motse” is the word for “found” (NASB “discovered”) in Eccl 7:26.

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