²¹ My son, fear the Lord, as well as the king,^(A)
and don’t associate with rebels,^[a]
22 for destruction will come suddenly from them;
who knows what distress these two can bring?

² It is the glory of God to conceal a matter^(A)
and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.
³ As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings cannot be investigated.

⁴ Remove impurities from silver,^(A)
and material will be produced^[a] for a silversmith.^[b](B)
5 Remove the wicked from the king’s presence,^(C)
and his throne will be established in righteousness.^(D)

⁶ Don’t boast about yourself before the king,
and don’t stand in the place of the great;
⁷ for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here!”
than to demote you in plain view of a noble.^[a](A)

⁴ By justice a king brings stability to a land,^(A)
but a person who demands “contributions”^[a]
demolishes it.^(B)

¹⁴ A king who judges the poor with fairness—
his throne will be established forever.^(A)