Whoever conceals an offense promotes love,(A)
but whoever gossips about it separates friends.(B)

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Whoever (A)covers an offense seeks love,
    but he who repeats a matter (B)separates close friends.

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The wounds of a friend are trustworthy,(A)
but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.(B)

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Faithful are (A)the wounds of a friend;
    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

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Oil(A) and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the sweetness of a friend is better than self-counsel.[a]

10 Don’t abandon your friend or your father’s friend,(B)
and don’t go to your brother’s house
in your time of calamity;
better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 27:9 LXX reads heart, but the soul is torn up by affliction

(A)Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.[a]
10 Do not forsake your friend and (B)your father's friend,
    and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity.
(C)Better is a neighbor who is near
    than a brother who is far away.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:9 Or and so does the sweetness of a friend that comes from his earnest counsel