An (A)evildoer listens to wicked lips;
A [a]liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 Lit falsehood

An evildoer pays attention to guilty lips;
    a liar listens to a destructive tongue.

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20 One who has a crooked [a]mind (A)finds nothing good,
And one who is [b](B)corrupted in his language falls into evil.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:20 Lit heart
  2. Proverbs 17:20 Lit altered in his tongue

20 Those with crooked hearts won’t prosper,
    and those with twisted tongues will fall into trouble.

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On Life and Conduct

19 (A)Better is a poor person who (B)walks in his integrity
Than a person who is perverse in [a]speech and is a fool.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:1 Lit his lips

19 Better to be poor and walk in innocence
    than to have dishonest lips and be a fool.

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18 Like a maniac who shoots
(A)Flaming arrows, arrows, and death,
19 So is a person who (B)deceives his neighbor,
And says, “(C)Was I not joking?”

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18 Like a crazy person shooting deadly flaming arrows
19     are those who deceive their neighbor and say, “Hey, I was only joking!”

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28 A lying tongue hates [a]those it crushes,
And a (A)flattering mouth works ruin.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:28 Lit its crushed ones

28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes;
    a flattering mouth causes destruction.

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