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The Minor Theme

My son, listen to your father’s instruction,
    and do not let go of your mother’s teaching.
They will be a graceful wreath for your head
    and a chain for your neck.

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Parental Counsel about Immorality

20 Keep your father’s commands, my son,
    and never forsake your mother’s rules,[a]
21 by binding them to your heart continuously,
    fastening them around your neck.
22 During your travels wisdom[b] will lead you;
    she will watch over you while you rest;
and when you are startled from your sleep,
    she will commune with you.
23 Because the command is a lamp
    and the Law a light,
        rebukes that discipline are a way of life—

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:20 Or laws
  2. Proverbs 6:22 Lit. wisdom; i.e. wisdom personified as a woman

Solomon’s Sayings

10 The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise son brings joy to his father,
    but a foolish son grieves his mother.

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29 Whoever troubles his household will inherit the wind,
    and the fool will be a servant to the wise.

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Who is a Wise Son?

13 A wise son heeds[a] a father’s correction,
but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:1 The Heb. lacks heeds

A fool rejects his father’s instructions,
    but anyone who respects[a] reproof acts sensibly.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:5 Lit. keeps

20 A wise son makes a father glad,
    but a foolish man despises his mother.

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Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
    and the pride of children is their parents.

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17 A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is there[a] for times of trouble.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:17 Lit. born

21 The man who fathers a fool does so to his sorrow—
    the father of a fool has no joy.

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25 A foolish son brings grief to his father
    and bitterness to his mother.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:25 Lit. to the one who bore him

19 An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city,
    and his disputes are like the bars of a fortress.

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