He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
(A)He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

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He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield(A) to those whose walk is blameless,(B)

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The Folly of Indolence

(A)Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no [a]captain,
Overseer or ruler,
Provides her [b]supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:7 Lit. leader
  2. Proverbs 6:8 Lit. bread

Go to the ant, you sluggard;(A)
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer(B)
    and gathers its food at harvest.(C)

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12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And find out knowledge and discretion.
13 (A)The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
(B)Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And (C)the perverse mouth I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, (D)I have strength.
15 (E)By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All the judges of [a]the earth.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 8:16 MT, Syr., Tg., Vg. righteousness; LXX, Bg., some mss. and editions earth

12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
    I possess knowledge and discretion.(A)
13 To fear the Lord(B) is to hate evil;(C)
    I hate(D) pride and arrogance,
    evil behavior and perverse speech.
14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
    I have insight, I have power.(E)
15 By me kings reign
    and rulers(F) issue decrees that are just;
16 by me princes govern,(G)
    and nobles—all who rule on earth.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 8:16 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; other Hebrew manuscripts all righteous rulers

The righteousness of the blameless will [a]direct his way aright,
But the wicked will fall by his own (A)wickedness.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 11:5 Or make smooth or straight

The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight,(A)
    but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.(B)

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23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked (A)is wrath.

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23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
    but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.

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24 (A)The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.

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24 Diligent hands will rule,
    but laziness ends in forced labor.(A)

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(A)A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.

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From the fruit of their lips people enjoy good things,(A)
    but the unfaithful have an appetite for violence.

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13 He who (A)despises the word will be destroyed,
But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

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13 Whoever scorns instruction will pay for it,(A)
    but whoever respects(B) a command is rewarded.(C)

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22 (A)Without counsel, plans go awry,
But in the multitude of counselors they are established.

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22 Plans fail for lack of counsel,(A)
    but with many advisers(B) they succeed.(C)

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(A)Commit[a] your works to the Lord,
And your thoughts will be established.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:3 Lit. Roll

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
    and he will establish your plans.(A)

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(A)A man’s heart plans his way,
(B)But the Lord directs his steps.

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In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps.(A)

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12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For (A)a throne is established by righteousness.

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12 Kings detest wrongdoing,
    for a throne is established through righteousness.(A)

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