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An evildoer pays attention to wicked lips.
A liar feeds upon[a] a destructive tongue.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 Hebrew variant listens to

He who does evil listens to lips of wickedness,
    and the liar gives heed to the tongue of mischief.

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20 A crooked mind does not find good.
A perverted tongue will fall into disaster.

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20 He who is crooked of heart[a] will not find goodness,
    and he who is perverse, by his tongue he will fall into calamity.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:20 Or “mind”

19 Better to be a poor person who walks in his integrity
than one with perverse lips who is a fool.

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19 Better a poor person walking in integrity
    than one who is perverse in his speech[a] and is a fool.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:1 Literally “in his lips”

18 A person who deceives his neighbor and then says, “I was only joking,”
19 is like a madman who shoots firebrands and deadly arrows.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:19 Elements of verses 18 and 19 were rearranged to get smooth English word order.

18 Like a maniac who shoots
    firebrands, arrows, and death,
19 so is a man who deceives his neighbor,
    but says “Am I not joking?”

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28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes,
and a smooth mouth causes ruin.

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28 A tongue of deceit hates its victim,
    and a flattering mouth makes ruin.

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