An (A)evildoer listens to wicked lips;
A [a]liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 Lit falsehood

Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip;
    liars pay close attention to slander.

Read full chapter

20 One who has a crooked [a]mind (A)finds nothing good,
And one who is [b](B)corrupted in his language falls into evil.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:20 Lit heart
  2. Proverbs 17:20 Lit altered in his tongue

20 The crooked heart will not prosper;
    the lying tongue tumbles into trouble.

Read full chapter

On Life and Conduct

19 (A)Better is a poor person who (B)walks in his integrity
Than a person who is perverse in [a]speech and is a fool.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:1 Lit his lips

19 Better to be poor and honest
    than to be dishonest and a fool.

Read full chapter

18 Like a maniac who shoots
(A)Flaming arrows, arrows, and death,
19 So is a person who (B)deceives his neighbor,
And says, “(C)Was I not joking?”

Read full chapter

18 Just as damaging
    as a madman shooting a deadly weapon
19 is someone who lies to a friend
    and then says, “I was only joking.”

Read full chapter

28 A lying tongue hates [a]those it crushes,
And a (A)flattering mouth works ruin.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:28 Lit its crushed ones

28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
    and flattering words cause ruin.

Read full chapter