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17 Caring for the poor
is lending to the Lord,
    and you will be well repaid.
18 Correct your children
    before it's too late;
if you don't punish them,
    trouble will come their way.[a]
19 People with bad tempers
    are always in trouble,
and they need help
    over and over again.[b]
20 Pay attention to advice
and accept correction,
    so you can live sensibly.

21 We may make a lot of plans,
but the Lord will do
    what he has decided.
22 What matters most is loyalty.
It's better to be poor
    than to be a liar.
23 Showing respect to the Lord
    brings true life—
if you do it, you can relax
    without fear of danger.

24 Some people are too lazy
to lift a hand
    to feed themselves.
25 Stupid fools learn good sense
    by seeing others punished;
a sensible person learns
    by being corrected.
26 Disgraceful children
rob their father
    and chase their mother away.

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Footnotes

  1. 19.18 if … way: Or “but be careful not to punish them too harshly.”
  2. 19.19 and they … again: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

24 Sometimes you can become rich
by being generous
    or poor by being greedy.
25 Generosity will be rewarded:
    Give a cup of water,
and you will receive
    a cup of water in return.
26 Charge too much for grain,
    and you will be cursed;
sell it at a fair price,
    and you will be praised.

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