21 My son, (A)fear the Lord and the king,
    and do not join with those who do otherwise,
22 for disaster will arise suddenly from them,
    and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?

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21 My son, fear the Lord, as well as the king,(A)
and don’t associate with rebels,[a]
22 for destruction from them will come suddenly;
who knows what distress these two can bring?

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 24:21 Or those given to change

It is the glory of God to (A)conceal things,
    but the glory of kings is to (B)search things out.
As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
    so the heart of kings is (C)unsearchable.

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It is the glory of God to conceal a matter(A)
and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.
As the heaven is high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings cannot be investigated.

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Take away (A)the dross from the silver,
    and (B)the smith has material for a vessel;
take away (C)the wicked from the presence of the king,
    and his (D)throne will be established in righteousness.

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Remove impurities from silver,(A)
and a vessel will be produced[a] for a silversmith.(B)
Remove the wicked from the king’s presence,(C)
and his throne will be established in righteousness.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 25:4 Lit will come out; Ex 32:24

Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence
    or stand in the place of the great,
for (A)it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
    than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen

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Don’t brag about yourself before the king,
and don’t stand in the place of the great;
for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here!”
than to demote you in plain view of a noble.[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 25:7 Lit you before a noble whom your eyes see

By justice a king (A)builds up the land,
    but he who exacts gifts[a] tears it down.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 29:4 Or who taxes heavily

By justice a king brings stability to a land,(A)
but a man who demands “contributions”[a]
demolishes it.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 29:4 The Hb word for “contributions” usually refers to offerings in worship.

14 If a king (A)faithfully judges the poor,
    his throne will (B)be established forever.

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14 A king who judges the poor with fairness—
his throne will be established forever.(A)

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(A)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
    it is not for kings (B)to drink wine,
    or for rulers to take (C)strong drink,
lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
    and (D)pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
Give strong drink to the one who (E)is perishing,
    and wine to (F)those in bitter distress;[a]
(G)let them drink and forget their poverty
    and remember their misery no more.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 31:6 Hebrew those bitter in soul

It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings(A) to drink wine(B)
or for rulers to desire beer.
Otherwise, they[a] will drink,
forget what is decreed,(C)
and pervert justice for all the oppressed.[b](D)
Give beer to one who is dying
and wine to one whose life is bitter.(E)
Let him drink so that he can forget his poverty
and remember his trouble no more.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 31:5 Lit he
  2. Proverbs 31:5 Lit sons of affliction