In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back,
But (A)the lips of the wise will protect them.

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The talk of fools is a rod for their backs,[a]
    but the lips of the wise preserve them.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 14.3 Cn: Heb a rod of pride

The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But (A)the foolishness of fools is deceit.

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It is the wisdom of the clever to understand where they go,
    but the folly of fools misleads.(A)

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15 The naive believes everything,
But the sensible person considers his steps.
16 A wise person [a]is cautious and (A)turns away from evil,
But a fool is arrogant and careless.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:16 Lit fears

15 The simple believe everything,
    but the clever consider their steps.
16 The wise are cautious and turn away from evil,
    but the fool throws off restraint and is careless.(A)

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18 The naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.

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18 The simple are adorned with[a] folly,
    but the clever are crowned with knowledge.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 14.18 Or inherit

24 The (A)crown of the wise is their riches,
But the foolishness of fools is simply foolishness.

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24 The crown of the wise is their wealth,
    but folly is the garland[a] of fools.

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Footnotes

  1. 14.24 Cn: Heb is the folly

33 Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding,
But among fools it is made known.

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33 Wisdom is at home in the mind of one who has understanding,
    but it is not[a] known in the heart of fools.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 14.33 Gk Syr: Heb lacks not