10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will delight you.
11 Discretion will watch over you,
and understanding will guard you.(A)

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10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 prudence will watch over you,
    and understanding will guard you.

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20 So follow the way of the good,(A)
and keep to the paths of the righteous.

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20 Therefore walk in the way of the good,
    and keep to the paths of the just.

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14 Keep off the path of the wicked;(A)
don’t proceed on the way of evil ones.
15 Avoid it; don’t travel on it.
Turn away from it, and pass it by.
16 For they can’t sleep
unless they have done what is evil;
they are robbed of sleep
unless they make someone stumble.(B)
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,(C)
shining brighter and brighter until midday.
19 But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom;(D)
they don’t know what makes them stumble.(E)

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14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
    and do not walk in the way of evildoers.(A)
15 Avoid it; do not go on it;
    turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
    they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.(B)
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
    which shines brighter and brighter until full day.(C)
19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
    they do not know what they stumble over.(D)

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20 The one who walks with the wise will become wise,
but a companion of fools will suffer harm.

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20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
    but the companion of fools suffers harm.(A)

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28 A contrary person spreads conflict,
and a gossip separates close friends.(A)

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28 A perverse person spreads strife,
    and a whisperer separates close friends.(A)

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12 Better for a person to meet a bear robbed of her cubs(A)
than a fool in his foolishness.

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12 Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs
    than to confront a fool immersed in folly.(A)

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

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17 A friend loves at all times,
    and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.(A)

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24 One with many friends may be harmed,[a]
but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 18:24 Some LXX mss, Syr, Tg, Vg read friends must be friendly

24 Some[a] friends play at friendship,[b]
    but a true friend sticks closer than one’s sibling.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 18.24 Syr Tg: Heb A man of
  2. 18.24 Cn Compare Syr Vg Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain

Wealth attracts many friends,(A)
but a poor person is separated from his friend.

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Wealth brings many friends,
    but the poor are left friendless.(A)

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Many seek a ruler’s favor,(A)
and everyone is a friend of one who gives gifts.(B)

All the brothers of a poor person hate him;(C)
how much more do his friends
keep their distance from him!
He may pursue them with words,(D)
but they are not there.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 19:7 Hb uncertain

Many seek the favor of the generous,
    and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.(A)
If the poor are hated even by their kin,
    how much more are they shunned by their friends!
When they call after them, they are not there.[a](B)

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Footnotes

  1. 19.7 Meaning of Heb uncertain

19 The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip;(A)
avoid someone with a big mouth.(B)

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19 A gossip reveals secrets;
    therefore do not associate with a babbler.(A)

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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)
25 or you will learn his ways(B)
and entangle yourself in a snare.

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Footnotes

  1. 22:24 Lit with a master of anger

24 Make no friends with those given to anger,
    and do not associate with hotheads,
25 lest you learn their ways
    and entangle yourself in a snare.

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