15 He who (A)justifies the wicked and he who (B)condemns the righteous
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

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15 Judging the righteous wicked and the wicked righteous—
    the Lord detests both of these.

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26 (A)To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
    nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

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26 It isn’t good to punish the righteous,
    to strike the honorable for their integrity.

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It is not good to (A)be partial to[a] the wicked
    or to (B)deprive the righteous of justice.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:5 Hebrew to lift the face of

Favoring the wicked isn’t good;
    it denies justice to the righteous.

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15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous
    (A)but terror to evildoers.

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15 Acting justly is a joy to the righteous,
    but dreaded by those who do evil.

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11 (A)Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
    hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
    (B)does not he who (C)weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who (D)keeps watch over your soul know it,
    and will he not repay man (E)according to his work?

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11 Rescue those being taken off to death;
    and from those staggering to the slaughter, don’t hold back.
12 If you say, “Look, we didn’t know about it,”
    the one who weighs hearts—doesn’t he understand?
    The one who protects your life—he knows.
    He makes people pay for their actions.

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More Sayings of the Wise

23 These also are sayings of (A)the wise.

(B)Partiality in judging is not good.
24 Whoever (C)says to the wicked, “You are in the right,”
    (D)will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,
25 but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
    and a good blessing will come upon them.

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More sayings of the wise

23 These are also the sayings of the wise:

Partiality in judgment isn’t good.

24 Those who say to the guilty, “You are innocent”—
    the people will curse them.
    Nations will condemn them.
25 But it will go well for those who rebuke them.
    A rich blessing will come to them.

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Evil men (A)do not understand justice,
    but those who seek the Lord (B)understand it completely.

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Evil people don’t understand justice,
    but those who seek the Lord understand everything.

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26 Many (A)seek the face of a ruler,
    but it is from the Lord that a man (B)gets justice.

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26 Many seek access to the ruler,
    but justice comes from the Lord.

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