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11 Discretion will (A)keep you,
Discernment will guard you,
12 To (B)deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks (C)perverse things;
13 From those who (D)forsake the paths of uprightness
To walk in the (E)ways of darkness;
14 Who are (F)glad to do evil
And they rejoice in the perversity of evil;
15 Whose paths are (G)crooked,
And who are devious in their tracks;
16 To deliver you from the [a](H)strange woman,
From the [b](I)foreign woman who flatters with her words;
17 Who forsakes the close (J)companion of her youth
And forgets the (K)covenant of her God;
18 For (L)her house [c]sinks down to death
And her tracks descend to the [d]dead;
19 All (M)who go to her will not return,
And they will not reach the (N)paths of life.
20 So that you will (O)walk in the way of good men
And keep to the (P)paths of the righteous.
21 For (Q)the upright will dwell in the land
And (R)the blameless will remain in it;
22 But (S)the wicked will be cut off from the land
And (T)the treacherous will be (U)torn away from it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:16 A forbidden woman, outside of the marriage covenant; an adulteress; parallel with foreign woman; so in Prov
  2. Proverbs 2:16 An unfamiliar woman, alien to the marriage covenant; parallel with strange woman
  3. Proverbs 2:18 Lit bows down
  4. Proverbs 2:18 Lit departed spirits

11 Foresight will stand guard over you.
Understanding will protect you.
12 It will save you from the evil way,
from the man who speaks perverse things,
13 from those who abandon upright paths
    in order to walk in the ways of darkness.
14 It will save you from those who enjoy doing evil,
from those who celebrate the twisted ways of evil,
15 from those whose paths are crooked,
and from those whose ways are devious.

Wisdom Protects You From the Adulterous Woman

16 Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman,[a]
from the unfaithful woman[b] with her seductive words,
17 who abandons the husband of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God.
18 So she sinks down to death, which becomes her house.[c]
Her way of life leads down to the spirits of the dead.
19 All who enter her house never return.
They never reach the paths of life.

Admonition to Live Righteously

20 This is how to walk in the way of good people,
how to stay on the paths of the righteous.
21 Yes, the upright will live in the land,
and people with integrity will remain in it,
22 but wicked people will be cut off from the land,
and treacherous people will be torn out of it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:16 Literally from the strange woman, that is, one who is married to another man
  2. Proverbs 2:16 Literally from the foreign woman, that is, one who is married to another man
  3. Proverbs 2:18 The line is difficult and the translation is uncertain.

31 (A)Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.
32 For the (B)devious one is an abomination to Yahweh;
But His (C)secret council is with the upright.

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31 Do not envy a violent person.
Do not choose any of his ways,
32 because a crooked person is an abomination[a] to the Lord,
but God’s friendly guidance leads[b] the upright.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 3:32 Or is disgusting or is repulsive
  2. Proverbs 3:32 Or intimate counsel guides

12 A (A)vile person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a (B)perverse mouth,
13 Who (C)winks with his eyes, who [a]signals with his feet,
Who [b]points with his fingers;
14 Who with (D)perversity in his heart continually (E)devises evil,
Who [c](F)spreads contentions.
15 Therefore (G)his disaster will come suddenly;
(H)Instantly he will be broken and there will be (I)no healing.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:13 Lit scrapes
  2. Proverbs 6:13 Lit instructs
  3. Proverbs 6:14 Lit sends out

Dishonesty Leads to Disaster

12 A worthless, wicked scoundrel,
who goes around with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks with his eye, signals with his foot,
and gestures with his fingers,
14 who plots evil with a deceitful heart—
he always spreads conflict.
15 Therefore his disaster will come upon him suddenly.
All at once he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.

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(A)Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
But (B)the mouth of the wicked covers up violence.

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Wise Words and Wise Ways

Blessings crown the head of a righteous person,
but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:6 Or the mouth of the wicked conceals violence

11 The (A)mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
But (B)the mouth of the wicked covers up violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
But (C)love covers all transgressions.
13 On (D)the lips of the one who has understanding, wisdom is found,
But (E)a rod is for the back of him who lacks a heart of wisdom.

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11 The mouth of a righteous person is a fountain of life,
but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.[a]
12 Hatred stirs up a quarrel,
but love covers all sins.
13 Wisdom is found on the lips of a discerning person,
but a rod is appropriate for the back of one who lacks sense.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:11 Or the mouth of the wicked conceals violence

18 He (A)who covers up hatred has lying lips,
And he who spreads a bad report is a fool.

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18 Whoever conceals hatred has lying lips,
and whoever spreads gossip is a fool.

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13 He (A)who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
But he who is faithful in spirit (B)conceals a matter.

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13 A gossip goes around betraying secrets,
but a trustworthy spirit keeps a matter confidential.

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15 The (A)way of an ignorant fool is right in his own eyes,
But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
16 An (B)ignorant fool’s [a]anger is known at once,
But a prudent man conceals disgrace.
17 He who breathes out truth declares what is right,
But a false witness, deceit.
18 There is one who (C)speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,
But the (D)tongue of the wise brings healing.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:16 Or vexation

15 The way of a stubborn fool seems correct to him,
but whoever listens to advice is wise.
16 A stubborn fool immediately lets his annoyance be known,
but a sensible person overlooks an insult.
17 Whoever breathes the truth proclaims righteousness,
but a lying witness is deceitful.
18 Some people wield reckless words like the thrusts of a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

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16 Every (A)prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool spreads out folly.

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16 Every sensible person acts with knowledge,
but a fool displays stupidity.

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27 A (A)vile man digs up evil,
And the words on his lips are like (B)scorching fire.
28 A perverse man spreads strife,
And a whisperer separates close companions.
29 A man of violence (C)entices his neighbor
And leads him in a way that is not good.
30 He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things;
He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

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27 A worthless scoundrel constantly plots evil,
and from his lips comes a scorching fire.
28 A perverse[a] man spreads conflict,
and a gossip separates intimate friends.
29 A violent man entices his neighbor.
He leads him on a way that is not good.
30 A person who squints his eyes is plotting something perverse.
One who purses his lips has completed some evil plot.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:28 Or twisted

An (A)evildoer gives heed to lips of wickedness;
[a]A liar gives ear to a destructive tongue.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 Lit Falsehood

An evildoer pays attention to wicked lips.
A liar feeds upon[a] a destructive tongue.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 Hebrew variant listens to

He who (A)covers a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter (B)separates close companions.

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A person who covers an offense pursues love,
but one who repeats the matter separates friends.

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