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28 Love and faithfulness keep the king safe.
    His throne is sustained by love.

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28 Loyalty and faithfulness preserve the king,
    and his throne is upheld by righteousness.[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. 20.28 Gk: Heb loyalty

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

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

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The way of the guilty is crooked,
    but the conduct of the pure is right.

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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 A wicked man hardens his face;
    but as for the upright, he establishes his ways.

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29 The wicked put on a bold face,
    but the upright give thought to[a] their ways.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 21.29 Or establish

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

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10 Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out;
    yes, quarrels and insults will stop.
11 He who loves purity of heart and speaks gracefully
    is the king’s friend.

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10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife goes out;
    quarreling and abuse will cease.(A)
11 Those who love a pure heart and are gracious in speech
    will have the king as a friend.(B)

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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 When you sit to eat with a ruler,
    consider diligently what is before you;
put a knife to your throat,
    if you are a man given to appetite.
Don’t be desirous of his dainties,
    since they are deceitful food.

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23 When you sit down to eat with an official,
    observe carefully what[a] is before you,
and put a knife to your throat
    if you have a big appetite.
Do not desire an official’s[b] delicacies,
    for they are deceptive food.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 23.1 Or who
  2. 23.3 Heb his

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 him who has a stingy eye,
    and don’t crave his delicacies:
    for as he thinks about the cost, so he is.
    “Eat and drink!” he says to you,
    but his heart is not with you.
The morsel which you have eaten you shall vomit up,
    and lose your good words.

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Do not eat the bread of the stingy;
    do not desire their delicacies,(A)
for like a hair in the throat, so are they.[a]
    “Eat and drink!” they say to you,
    but they do not mean it.(B)
You will vomit up the little you have eaten,
    and you will waste your pleasant words.

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Footnotes

  1. 23.7 Meaning of Heb uncertain

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

Take away the wicked from the king’s presence,
    and his throne will be established in righteousness.

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take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
    and his throne will be established in righteousness.(A)

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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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One who sends a message by the hand of a fool
    is cutting off feet and drinking violence.

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It is like cutting off one’s foot and drinking down violence,
    to send a message by a fool.

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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 As an archer who wounds all,
    so is he who hires a fool
    or he who hires those who pass by.

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10 Like an archer who wounds everybody
    is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 26.10 Meaning of Heb uncertain

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

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