¹¹ Discretion will ^(A)guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
¹² To ^(B)deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks ^(C)perverse things;
¹³ From those who ^(D)leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ^(E)ways of darkness;
¹⁴ Who ^(F)delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
¹⁵ Whose paths are ^(G)crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
¹⁶ To ^(H)deliver you from the strange woman,
From the ^[a](I)adulteress who flatters with her words;
¹⁷ That leaves the ^(J)companion of her youth
And forgets the ^(K)covenant of her God;
¹⁸ For ^(L)her house ^[b]sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the ^[c]dead;
¹⁹ None ^(M)who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the ^(N)paths of life.
²⁰ So 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 ^[d]live 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)uprooted from it.

^6 (A)Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
But ^(B)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 conceals violence.
¹² Hatred stirs up strife,
But ^(C)love covers all transgressions.
¹³ On ^(D)the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found,
But ^(E)a rod is for the back of him who lacks ^[a]understanding.

¹⁸ He ^(A)who conceals hatred has lying lips,
And he who spreads slander is a fool.

¹³ He ^(A)who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is ^[a]trustworthy ^(B)conceals a matter.

¹⁵ The ^(A)way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
¹⁶ A ^(B)fool’s anger is known at once,
But a prudent man conceals dishonor.
¹⁷ He who ^[a]speaks truth tells 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.

¹⁶ Every ^(A)prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool ^[a]displays folly.