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22 
Listen to your father, who sired you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 
[a]Buy truth, and do not sell it;
Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

24 
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who sires a wise child will have joy in him.
25 
Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who gave birth to you rejoice [in your wise and godly choices].

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:23 The ancient rabbis routinely assumed “truth” to refer to the Torah (Law), and they interpreted the first part of this command to mean that a student should pay a teacher to teach him the Torah if he can find no one to teach him for free. As for the second part, they said that if the student had to pay to learn, he should not view this as grounds to charge for teaching others, but should teach the Torah for free.

22 (A)Listen to your father, who fathered you,
And (B)do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 (C)Buy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And (D)he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25 Let your (E)father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

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