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11 Discretion will (A)keep you,
Discernment will guard you,
12 To (B)deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks (C)perverse things;
13 From those who (D)forsake the paths of uprightness
To walk in the (E)ways of darkness;
14 Who are (F)glad to do evil
And they rejoice in the perversity of evil;
15 Whose paths are (G)crooked,
And who are devious in their tracks;
16 To deliver you from the [a](H)strange woman,
From the [b](I)foreign woman who flatters with her words;
17 Who forsakes the close (J)companion of her youth
And forgets the (K)covenant of her God;
18 For (L)her house [c]sinks down to death
And her tracks descend to the [d]dead;
19 All (M)who go to her will not return,
And they will not reach the (N)paths of life.
20 So that you will (O)walk in the way of good men
And keep to the (P)paths of the righteous.
21 For (Q)the upright will dwell in the land
And (R)the blameless will remain in it;
22 But (S)the wicked will be cut off from the land
And (T)the treacherous will be (U)torn away from it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:16 A forbidden woman, outside of the marriage covenant; an adulteress; parallel with foreign woman; so in Prov
  2. Proverbs 2:16 An unfamiliar woman, alien to the marriage covenant; parallel with strange woman
  3. Proverbs 2:18 Lit bows down
  4. Proverbs 2:18 Lit departed spirits

11 Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.(A)

12 Wisdom will save(B) you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,(C)
14 who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,(D)
15 whose paths are crooked(E)
    and who are devious in their ways.(F)

16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,(G)
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
    and ignored the covenant she made before God.[a](H)
18 Surely her house leads down to death
    and her paths to the spirits of the dead.(I)
19 None who go to her return
    or attain the paths of life.(J)

20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,(K)
    and the blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked(L) will be cut off from the land,(M)
    and the unfaithful will be torn from it.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:17 Or covenant of her God

31 (A)Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.
32 For the (B)devious one is an abomination to Yahweh;
But His (C)secret council is with the upright.

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31 Do not envy(A) the violent
    or choose any of their ways.

32 For the Lord detests the perverse(B)
    but takes the upright into his confidence.(C)

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12 A (A)vile person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a (B)perverse mouth,
13 Who (C)winks with his eyes, who [a]signals with his feet,
Who [b]points with his fingers;
14 Who with (D)perversity in his heart continually (E)devises evil,
Who [c](F)spreads contentions.
15 Therefore (G)his disaster will come suddenly;
(H)Instantly he will be broken and there will be (I)no healing.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:13 Lit scrapes
  2. Proverbs 6:13 Lit instructs
  3. Proverbs 6:14 Lit sends out

12 A troublemaker and a villain,
    who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13     who winks maliciously with his eye,(A)
    signals with his feet
    and motions with his fingers,(B)
14     who plots evil(C) with deceit in his heart—
    he always stirs up conflict.(D)
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;(E)
    he will suddenly(F) be destroyed—without remedy.(G)

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(A)Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
But (B)the mouth of the wicked covers up violence.

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Blessings crown the head of the righteous,
    but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:6 Or righteous, / but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence

11 The (A)mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
But (B)the mouth of the wicked covers up violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
But (C)love covers all transgressions.
13 On (D)the lips of the one who has understanding, wisdom is found,
But (E)a rod is for the back of him who lacks a heart of wisdom.

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11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,(A)
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.(B)

12 Hatred stirs up conflict,
    but love covers over all wrongs.(C)

13 Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,(D)
    but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.(E)

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18 He (A)who covers up hatred has lying lips,
And he who spreads a bad report is a fool.

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18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips(A)
    and spreads slander is a fool.

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13 He (A)who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
But he who is faithful in spirit (B)conceals a matter.

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13 A gossip betrays a confidence,(A)
    but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.(B)

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15 The (A)way of an ignorant fool is right in his own eyes,
But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
16 An (B)ignorant fool’s [a]anger is known at once,
But a prudent man conceals disgrace.
17 He who breathes out truth declares what is right,
But a false witness, deceit.
18 There is one who (C)speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,
But the (D)tongue of the wise brings healing.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:16 Or vexation

15 The way of fools seems right to them,(A)
    but the wise listen to advice.(B)

16 Fools(C) show their annoyance at once,(D)
    but the prudent overlook an insult.(E)

17 An honest witness tells the truth,
    but a false witness tells lies.(F)

18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords,(G)
    but the tongue of the wise brings healing.(H)

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16 Every (A)prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool spreads out folly.

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16 All who are prudent act with[a] knowledge,
    but fools expose(A) their folly.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:16 Or prudent protect themselves through

27 A (A)vile man digs up evil,
And the words on his lips are like (B)scorching fire.
28 A perverse man spreads strife,
And a whisperer separates close companions.
29 A man of violence (C)entices his neighbor
And leads him in a way that is not good.
30 He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things;
He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

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27 A scoundrel(A) plots evil,
    and on their lips it is like a scorching fire.(B)

28 A perverse person stirs up conflict,(C)
    and a gossip separates close friends.(D)

29 A violent person entices their neighbor
    and leads them down a path that is not good.(E)

30 Whoever winks(F) with their eye is plotting perversity;
    whoever purses their lips is bent on evil.

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An (A)evildoer gives heed to lips of wickedness;
[a]A liar gives ear to a destructive tongue.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 Lit Falsehood

A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;
    a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

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He who (A)covers a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter (B)separates close companions.

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Whoever would foster love covers over an offense,(A)
    but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.(B)

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11 A rebellious man seeks only evil,
So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

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11 Evildoers foster rebellion against God;
    the messenger of death will be sent against them.

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