19 Desire realized is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.
20 (A)One who walks with wise people will be wise,
But a companion of fools will suffer harm.

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19 A desire fulfilled is pleasant,
    but fools find deviating from evil disgusting.
20 Walk with wise people and become wise;
    befriend fools and get in trouble.

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Leave the (A)presence of a fool,
Or you will not [a]discern [b]words of knowledge.
The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But (B)the foolishness of fools is deceit.
Fools mock at [c]sin,
But (C)among the upright there is [d]goodwill.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:7 Lit know
  2. Proverbs 14:7 Lit lips
  3. Proverbs 14:9 Lit guilt
  4. Proverbs 14:9 Or the favor of God

Stay away from fools,
    for you won’t learn wise speech there.
By their wisdom the prudent understand their way,
    but the stupidity of fools deceives them.
Fools mock a compensation offering,
    but favor is with those who do right.

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16 A wise person [a]is cautious and (A)turns away from evil,
But a fool is arrogant and careless.
17 A quick-tempered person acts foolishly,
And a person of evil devices is hated.
18 The naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:16 Lit fears

16 The wise are careful and avoid evil,
    but fools become excited and overconfident.
17 Short-tempered people make stupid mistakes,
    and schemers are hated.
18 Stupidity is the lot of the naive,
    but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

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29 One who is (A)slow to anger has great understanding;
But one who is [a]quick-tempered exalts foolishness.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:29 Lit short of spirit

29 Patience leads to abundant understanding,
    but impatience leads to stupid mistakes.

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A fool [a]rejects his father’s discipline,
But he who complies with rebuke is sensible.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:5 Or despises

A fool doesn’t like a father’s instruction,
    but those who heed correction are mature.

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14 The (A)mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge,
But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

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14 An understanding heart seeks knowledge;
    but fools feed on folly.

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10 A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding
Than a hundred blows into a fool.

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10 A rebuke goes deeper to an understanding person
    than a hundred lashes to a fool.

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16 Why is there money in the hand of a fool to (A)buy wisdom,
When [a]he has no sense?

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:16 Lit there is no heart

16 Why should a fool have money
    to pay for wisdom? He has no mind.

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24 Wisdom is in the presence of one who has understanding,
But the (A)eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

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24 Wisdom is right in front of those with understanding,
    but the eyes of fools are off to the edges of the earth.

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28 Even a fool, when he (A)keeps silent, is considered wise;
When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.

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28 Fools who keep quiet are deemed wise;
    those who shut their lips are smart.

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A fool does not delight in understanding,
But (A)in revealing his own [a]mind.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:2 Lit heart

Fools find no pleasure in understanding,
    but only in expressing their opinion.

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13 One who (A)gives an answer before he hears,
It is foolishness and shame to him.

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13 Those who answer before they listen
    are foolish and disgraceful.

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