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The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
    keeping watch on the evil and the good.(A)

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The eyes of the Lord are everywhere,
    watching evil people as well as the good.

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13 Evil will not depart from the house
    of one who returns evil for good.(A)

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13 A person who repays evil for good—
evil will never leave his house.

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26 To impose a fine on the innocent is not right
    or to flog the noble for their integrity.(A)

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26 It is not good to impose a fine on a righteous person
nor to flog officials because of their uprightness.

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A king who sits on the throne of judgment
    winnows all evil with his eyes.

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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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10 Those who mislead the upright into evil ways
    will fall into pits of their own making,
    but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.(A)

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10 A person who leads the upright along an evil way
will fall into his own pit,
but people of integrity will inherit good.

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21 To show partiality is not good,
    yet for a piece of bread a person may do wrong.

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21 Showing favoritism is not good,
but a man may sin for a piece of bread.

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Ode to a Woman of Strength

10 A woman of strength who can find?
    She is far more precious than jewels.(A)
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
    and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not harm
    all the days of her life.

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The Strong Wife[a]

10 Who can find a wife with strong character?[b]
Her value is greater than that of gems.
11 Her husband’s heart trusts her,
and he never lacks wealth.[c]
12 She does good for him and not evil
    all the days of her life.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 31:10 This closing poem of the book is an alphabetic acrostic, which means successive verses begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This gives an impression of covering every aspect of the topic from A to Z.
  2. Proverbs 31:10 Literally a woman of strength. The Hebrew term for strength may refer to economic power, political power, military power, or strong character. Here the emphasis is on her economic contribution to the family, which is a reflection of her dedication to her family and her community.
  3. Proverbs 31:11 The Hebrew word translated wealth usually refers to loot or spoils of war, not to regular income. Perhaps it highlights her strenuous effort.