10 A rebuke impresses a discerning person
    more than a hundred lashes a fool.

11 Evildoers foster rebellion against God;
    the messenger of death will be sent against them.

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10 A rebuke cuts into a perceptive person
more than a hundred lashes into a fool.

11 An evil person desires only rebellion;
a cruel messenger[a](A) will be sent against him.

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Footnotes

  1. 17:11 Or a merciless angel

20 Listen to advice and accept discipline,(A)
    and at the end you will be counted among the wise.(B)

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20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction
so that you may be wise later in life.[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. 19:20 Lit in your end

27 Stop listening to instruction, my son,(A)
    and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

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27 If you stop listening to correction, my son,
you will stray from the words of knowledge.

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A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion;(A)
    those who anger him forfeit their lives.(B)

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A king’s terrible wrath is like the roaring of a lion;
anyone who provokes him endangers himself.(A)

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Many claim to have unfailing love,
    but a faithful person who can find?(A)

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Many a person proclaims his own loyalty,
but who can find a trustworthy person?(A)

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When a king sits on his throne to judge,(A)
    he winnows out all evil with his eyes.(B)

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A king sitting on a throne to judge
separates out all evil with his eyes.(A)

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11 Even small children are known by their actions,
    so is their conduct really pure(A) and upright?

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11 Even a young man is known by his actions—
by whether his behavior is pure and upright.(A)

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30 Blows and wounds scrub(A) away evil,
    and beatings(B) purge the inmost being.

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30 Lashes and wounds purge away evil,(A)
and beatings cleanse the innermost parts.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 20:30 Lit beatings the chambers of the belly

21 In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water
    that he channels toward all who please him.(A)

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21 A king’s heart is like channeled water in the Lord’s hand:
He directs it wherever he chooses.(A)

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11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
    will have the king for a friend.(A)

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11 The one who loves a pure heart
and gracious lips—the king is his friend.(A)

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It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
    to search out a matter is the glory of kings.(A)
As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
    so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

Remove the dross from the silver,
    and a silversmith can produce a vessel;
remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,(B)
    and his throne will be established(C) through righteousness.(D)

Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
    and do not claim a place among his great men;
it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”(E)
    than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.

What you have seen with your eyes

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It is the glory of God to conceal a matter(A)
and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.
As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings cannot be investigated.

Remove impurities from silver,(B)
and material will be produced[a] for a silversmith.[b](C)
Remove the wicked from the king’s presence,(D)
and his throne will be established in righteousness.(E)

Don’t boast about yourself before the king,
and don’t stand in the place of the great;
for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here!”
than to demote you in plain view of a noble.[c](F)

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Footnotes

  1. 25:4 Lit will come out; Ex 32:24
  2. 25:4 Or and a vessel will be produced by a silversmith
  3. 25:7 Lit you before a noble whom your eyes see

18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,(A)
    and whoever protects their master will be honored.(B)

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18 Whoever tends a fig tree(A) will eat its fruit,(B)
and whoever looks after his master will be honored.

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