11 The one who loves a pure heart
and gracious lips—the king is his friend.(A)

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11 Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech
    will have the king as a friend.

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24 Don’t make friends with an angry person,[a]
and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered one,(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 22:24 Lit with a master of anger

24 Don’t befriend angry people
    or associate with hot-tempered people,

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26 He who gives an honest answer
gives a kiss on the lips.

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26 An honest answer
    is like a kiss of friendship.

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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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Wounds from a sincere friend
    are better than many kisses from 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

The heartfelt counsel of a friend
    is as sweet as perfume and incense.

10 Never abandon a friend—
    either yours or your father’s.
When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance.
    It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.

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17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens another.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 27:17 Lit and a man sharpens his friend’s face

17 As iron sharpens iron,
    so a friend sharpens a friend.

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A discerning son keeps the law,
but a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.(A)

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Young people who obey the law are wise;
    those with wild friends bring shame to their parents.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 28:7 Hebrew their father.

A person who flatters his neighbor
spreads a net for his feet.(A)

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To flatter friends
    is to lay a trap for their feet.

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