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27 
[a]Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due [its rightful recipients],
When it is in your power to do it.(A)
28 
Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,”
When you have it with you.(B)
29 
Do not devise evil against your neighbor,
Who lives securely beside you.
30 
Do not quarrel with a man without cause,
If he has done you no harm.(C)
31 
Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.(D)
32 
For the devious are repulsive to the Lord;
But His private counsel is with the upright [those with spiritual integrity and moral courage].(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 3:27 Using this verse as a proof text, the ancient rabbis offered the example of an employer who tells his foreman to hire workers at four zuz (small silver coins) each to do a job, and the foreman hires them at three instead. Even though they accepted the terms, the rabbis rule that they have the right to complain. Compare this with the parable of the landowner who hires workers for a denarius each. The difference there is that the first group receives a fair wage, while the last is overpaid as a matter of generosity (Matt 20:15).


Treasures of wickedness and ill-gotten gains do not profit,
But righteousness and moral integrity in daily life rescues from death.

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked

11 A false balance and dishonest business practices are extremely offensive to the Lord,
But an accurate scale is His delight.(A)

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The one who guards his mouth [thinking before he speaks] protects his life;
The one who opens his lips wide [and chatters without thinking] comes to ruin.

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11 
Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles,
But he who gathers gradually by [honest] labor will increase [his riches].

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He who walks in uprightness [reverently] fears the Lord [and obeys and worships Him with profound respect],
But he who is devious in his ways despises Him.

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A faithful and trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a false witness speaks lies.

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27 
He who profits unlawfully brings suffering to his own house,
But he who hates bribes [and does not receive nor pay them] will live.(A)

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By mercy and lovingkindness and truth [not superficial ritual] wickedness is cleansed from the heart,
And by the fear of the Lord one avoids evil.

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Better is a little with righteousness
Than great income [gained] with injustice.(A)

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11 
A just balance and [honest] scales are the Lord’s;
All the weights of the bag are His concern [established by His eternal principles].

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A wise servant will rule over the [unworthy] son who acts shamefully and brings disgrace [to the family]
And [the worthy servant] will share in the inheritance among the brothers.

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