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12 A worthless person, a man of iniquity,
    is he who walks with a perverse mouth,
13 who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,
    who motions with his fingers,
14 in whose heart is perverseness,
    who devises evil continually,
    who always sows discord.
15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly.
    He will be broken suddenly, and that without remedy.

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12 What are worthless and wicked people like?
    They are constant liars,
13 signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,
    a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
14 Their perverted hearts plot evil,
    and they constantly stir up trouble.
15 But they will be destroyed suddenly,
    broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.

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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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10 One winking with the eye causes sorrow,
    but a chattering fool will fall.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a spring of life,
    but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

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10 People who wink at wrong cause trouble,
    but a bold reproof promotes peace.[a]

11 The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain;
    the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.

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Footnotes

  1. 10:10 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.

10 Whoever winks maliciously(A) causes grief,
    and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

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

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The integrity of the upright shall guide them,
    but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.

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Honesty guides good people;
    dishonesty destroys treacherous people.

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The integrity of the upright guides them,
    but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.(A)

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30 One who winks his eyes to plot perversities,
    one who compresses his lips, is bent on evil.

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30 With narrowed eyes, people plot evil;
    with a smirk, they plan their mischief.

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

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14 “It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer;
    but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.

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14 The buyer haggles over the price, saying, “It’s worthless,”
    then brags about getting a bargain!

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14 “It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer—
    then goes off and boasts about the purchase.

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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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Don’t eat with people who are stingy;
    don’t desire their delicacies.
They are always thinking about how much it costs.[a]
    “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.
You will throw up what little you’ve eaten,
    and your compliments will be wasted.

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Footnotes

  1. 23:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is 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

23 Like silver dross on an earthen vessel
    are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.
24 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,
    but he harbors evil in his heart.
25 When his speech is charming, don’t believe him,
    for there are seven abominations in his heart.
26 His malice may be concealed by deception,
    but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

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23 Smooth[a] words may hide a wicked heart,
    just as a pretty glaze covers a clay pot.

24 People may cover their hatred with pleasant words,
    but they’re deceiving you.
25 They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them.
    Their hearts are full of many evils.[b]
26 While their hatred may be concealed by trickery,
    their wrongdoing will be exposed in public.

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Footnotes

  1. 26:23 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Burning.
  2. 26:25 Hebrew seven evils.

23 Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware
    are fervent[a] lips with an evil heart.
24 Enemies disguise themselves with their lips,(A)
    but in their hearts they harbor deceit.(B)
25 Though their speech is charming,(C) do not believe them,
    for seven abominations fill their hearts.(D)
26 Their malice may be concealed by deception,
    but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:23 Hebrew; Septuagint smooth