26 It is certainly not good to fine an innocent person
or to beat a noble for his honesty.[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:26 Or noble unfairly

26 It isn’t good to punish the righteous,
    to strike the honorable for their integrity.

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26 If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good,(A)
    surely to flog honest officials is not right.

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It is not good to show partiality to the guilty(A)
by perverting the justice due the innocent.(B)

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Favoring the wicked isn’t good;
    it denies justice to the righteous.

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It is not good to be partial to the wicked(A)
    and so deprive the innocent of justice.(B)

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A guilty man’s conduct is crooked,(A)
but the behavior of the innocent is upright.(B)

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The ways of some people are twisted and strange,
    but the behavior of those who do right is pure.

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The way of the guilty is devious,(A)
    but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

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