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28 Loyalty and ·truth [faithfulness] ·keep a king in power [protect a king];
he ·continues to rule [supports his throne] if he is loyal.

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28 [a]Loyalty and (A)truth watch over the king,
And he upholds his throne by [b]loyalty.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:28 I.e., covenant loyalty
  2. Proverbs 20:28 I.e., covenant loyalty

28 Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;
    through love(A) his throne is made secure.(B)

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Guilty people live dishonest lives,
but ·honest people do right [virtuous people are pure].

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The way of a guilty person is (A)crooked,
But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

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

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29 Wicked people ·are stubborn [L put on a bold/impudent face],
but ·good people think carefully about what they do [L the virtuous establish their path].

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29 A wicked person [a](A)displays a bold face,
But as for the (B)upright, he makes his way sure.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:29 Lit makes firm with his face

29 The wicked put up a bold front,
    but the upright give thought to their ways.(A)

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10 ·Get rid of [Banish; Drive out] the ·one who makes fun of wisdom [mocker].
Then ·fighting [conflict], ·quarrels [judgments], and ·insults [shame] will stop.

11 Whoever loves pure ·thoughts [L hearts] and kind ·words [L lips]
will have even the king as a friend.

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10 (A)Drive out the scoffer, and strife will leave,
Even quarreling and dishonor will cease.
11 One who loves (B)purity of heart
And [a]whose speech is (C)gracious, the king is his friend.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:11 Lit has grace on his lips

10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
    quarrels and insults are ended.(A)

11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
    will have the king for a friend.(B)

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23 ·If [or When] you sit down to eat with a ruler,
    notice ·the food that [L what] is in front of you.
·Control yourself [L Place a knife at your throat]
    ·if you have a big [or to control your] appetite.
Don’t ·be greedy [long] for his fine foods,
    because that food might be ·a trick [false; deceptive].

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On Life and Conduct

23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Consider carefully [a]what is before you,
And put a knife to your throat
If you are a (A)person of great appetite.
Do not (B)desire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:1 Or who

Saying 7

23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
    note well what[a] is before you,
and put a knife to your throat
    if you are given to gluttony.
Do not crave his delicacies,(A)
    for that food is deceptive.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:1 Or who

Don’t eat the food of ·selfish [stingy; L evil eye] people;
    don’t ·be greedy [long] for their ·fine foods [delicacies].
·Selfish people are always worrying
    about how much the food costs [L They calculate in their minds; or They are like a hair in the throat].
They tell you, “Eat and drink,”
    but ·they don’t really mean it [L their heart is not with you].
You will ·throw up [vomit] the ·little [L crust] you have eaten,
    and you will have wasted your ·kind [pleasant] words.

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(A)Do not eat the bread of [a]a (B)selfish person;
Or desire his delicacies;
For as he [b]thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But (C)his heart is not with you.
You will (D)vomit up [c]the morsel you have eaten
And waste your [d]compliments.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:6 Lit an evil eye
  2. Proverbs 23:7 Lit reckons in his soul
  3. Proverbs 23:8 Lit your
  4. Proverbs 23:8 Lit pleasant words

Saying 9

Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
    do not crave his delicacies;(A)
for he is the kind of person
    who is always thinking about the cost.[a]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
    but his heart is not with you.
You will vomit up the little you have eaten
    and will have wasted your compliments.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is

·Remove [Separate] wicked people from the king’s presence;
    then his ·government [L throne] will be ·honest and last a long time [L established in righteousness].

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Take away the (A)wicked before the king,
And his (B)throne will be established in righteousness.

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remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,(A)
    and his throne will be established(B) through righteousness.(C)

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Sending a message by a foolish person
is like cutting off your feet or drinking ·poison [L violence].

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One who sends a message by the hand of a fool
Chops off his own feet and drinks violence.

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Sending a message by the hands of a fool(A)
    is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.

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10 Hiring a foolish person or anyone just passing by
is like an archer shooting ·at just anything [randomly].

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10 [a]Like an archer who wounds everyone,
So is one who hires a fool or hires those who pass by.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:10 Or A master workman produces all things, But one who hires a fool is like one who hires those who pass by

10 Like an archer who wounds at random
    is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.

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