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28 A large population brings glory to a king.
Without people a ruler is ruined.

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35 A king favors a servant who acts wisely,
but he is furious with one who acts shamefully.

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10 The king’s lips speak for God,
so his mouth should not betray justice.

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13 Kings approve of righteous lips.
They love a person who speaks upright things.
14 The king’s anger is a messenger of death,
but a wise person can appease it.
15 There is life in the light from a king’s face,
and his favor is like a cloud that brings spring rain.

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12 The king’s anger is like a lion’s growl,
but his favor is refreshing like dew on the grass.

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The king’s rage is like a lion’s growl.
Whoever intrudes on him endangers his life.

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When a king sits on his throne as judge,
he winnows out all evil with his eyes.

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26 A wise king winnows out the wicked.
He rolls the threshing wheel over them.

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28 Mercy and truth protect a king,
and he maintains his throne with mercy.

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Wise and Foolish Behaviors

21 A king’s heart is like streams of water in the hand of the Lord.
He directs it wherever he desires.

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11 A person who loves a pure heart and whose lips are gracious
    will have a king as his friend.

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29 Do you see a person who is efficient in his work?
He will serve kings.
He will not serve nobodies.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:29 Or unimportant people

21 Fear the Lord, my son, and also the king.
Do not associate with those who are rebellious,
22 because their disaster will take place suddenly.
Who knows what ruin the Lord and the king will cause?

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It brings glory to God to hide a matter,
but it brings glory to kings to investigate a matter.
As heaven is high and earth is deep,
so there is no searching the heart of kings.

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Remove impurities from silver,
and a vessel can be cast by a silversmith.
Remove a wicked person from a king’s presence,
and his throne will be established with righteousness.

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Do not honor yourself in a king’s presence.
Do not stand in a place reserved for great people,
because it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
than for you to be humiliated before a ruler
    whom your eyes have seen.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 25:7 Many translations associate this line with verse 8: What you have seen with your eye do not bring quickly into court. Manuscript evidence supports a connection with verse 7, but sense seems to favor including it with verse 8.

A king brings stability to a land by justice,
but one who accepts bribes tears it down.

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14 If a king judges poor people with truth,
his throne will be established permanently.

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It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,
nor for rulers to crave beer.
If he does, he will drink and forget what is decreed.
He will change the legal rights of all the oppressed.
Give beer to someone who is perishing
and wine to one whose soul is bitter.
He will drink and forget his poverty,
and he will no longer remember his trouble.

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