Avoid the Path of the Violent

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,(A)
for they will be a garland(B) of grace on your head
and a gold chain around your neck.(C)

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A Father’s Exhortation: Acquire Wisdom

My child,[a] listen when your father corrects you.
    Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
What you learn from them will crown you with grace
    and be a chain of honor around your neck.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:8 Hebrew My son; also in 1:10, 15.

Warning against Adultery

20 My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.(A)
21 Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck.(B)
22 When you walk here and there, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.
23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,(C)
and corrective discipline is the way to life.(D)

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20 My son, obey your father’s commands,
    and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
21 Keep their words always in your heart.
    Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
    When you sleep, they will protect you.
    When you wake up, they will advise you.
23 For their command is a lamp
    and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
    is the way to life.

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A Collection of Solomon’s Proverbs

10 Solomon’s proverbs:(A)

A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish son, heartache to his mother.(B)

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The Proverbs of Solomon

10 The proverbs of Solomon:

A wise child[a] brings joy to a father;
    a foolish child brings grief to a mother.

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Footnotes

  1. 10:1 Hebrew son; also in 10:1b.

29 The one who brings ruin on his household(A)
will inherit the wind,(B)
and a fool will be a slave
to someone whose heart is wise.

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29 Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind.
    The fool will be a servant to the wise.

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13 A wise son responds to his father’s discipline,
but a mocker doesn’t listen to rebuke.

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13 A wise child accepts a parent’s discipline;[a]
    a mocker refuses to listen to correction.

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Footnotes

  1. 13:1 Hebrew A wise son accepts his father’s discipline.

A fool despises his father’s discipline,
but a person who accepts correction is sensible.(A)

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Only a fool despises a parent’s[a] discipline;
    whoever learns from correction is wise.

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Footnotes

  1. 15:5 Hebrew father’s.

20 A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish man despises his mother.(A)

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20 Sensible children bring joy to their father;
    foolish children despise their mother.

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Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly,
and the pride of sons is their fathers.

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Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged;
    parents[a] are the pride of their children.

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Footnotes

  1. 17:6 Hebrew fathers.

17 A friend loves at all times,(A)
and a brother is born for a difficult time.

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17 A friend is always loyal,
    and a brother is born to help in time of need.

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21 A man fathers a fool to his own sorrow;
the father of a fool has no joy.(A)

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21 It is painful to be the parent of a fool;
    there is no joy for the father of a rebel.

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25 A foolish son is grief to his father
and bitterness to the one who bore him.(A)

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25 Foolish children[a] bring grief to their father
    and bitterness to the one who gave them birth.

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Footnotes

  1. 17:25 Hebrew A foolish son.

19 An offended brother is harder to reach[a]
than a fortified city,
and quarrels are like the bars of a fortress.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:19 LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read is stronger

19 An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city.
    Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.

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