Do not let (A)kindness and truth leave you;
(B)Bind them around your neck,
(C)Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Read full chapter

Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;
    bind them around your neck;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.(A)

Read full chapter

13 One (A)who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
But one who is [a]trustworthy (B)conceals a matter.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 11:13 Lit faithful of spirit

13 A gossip goes about telling secrets,
    but one who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a confidence.(A)

Read full chapter

22 Will they who (A)devise evil not go astray?
But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

Read full chapter

22 Do not those who plan evil err?
    Those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness.

Read full chapter

By (A)mercy and truth atonement is made for wrongdoing,
And by [a]the (B)fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:6 Or reverence for

By loyalty and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
    and by the fear of the Lord one avoids evil.(A)

Read full chapter

17 A (A)friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.

Read full chapter

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

Read full chapter

22 What is desirable in a person is his [a]kindness,
And it is better to be a poor person than a liar.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:22 Or loyalty

22 What is desirable in a person is loyalty,
    and it is better to be poor than a liar.

Read full chapter

Many a person (A)proclaims his own loyalty,
But who can find a (B)trustworthy person?

Read full chapter

Many proclaim themselves loyal,
    but who can find one worthy of trust?(A)

Read full chapter

28 [a]Loyalty and (A)truth watch over the king,
And he upholds his throne by [b]loyalty.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:28 I.e., covenant loyalty
  2. Proverbs 20:28 I.e., covenant loyalty

28 Loyalty and faithfulness preserve the king,
    and his throne is upheld by righteousness.[a](A)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 20.28 Gk: Heb loyalty

26 (A)Give me your heart, my son,
And let your eyes [a](B)delight in my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a (C)deep pit,
And a [b](D)strange woman is a narrow well.
28 Certainly she (E)lurks as a robber,
And increases the treacherous among mankind.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:26 Another reading is observe
  2. Proverbs 23:27 Lit foreign

26 My child, give me your heart,
    and let your eyes observe[a] my ways.(A)
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit;
    an adulteress[b] is a narrow well.(B)
28 She lies in wait like a robber
    and increases the number of the faithless.(C)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 23.26 Or delight in
  2. 23.27 Heb alien woman

13 Like the cold of snow in the [a]time of harvest
Is a (A)faithful messenger to those who send him,
For he refreshes the soul of his masters.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 25:13 Lit day

13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
    are faithful messengers to those who send them;
    they refresh the spirit of their masters.(A)

Read full chapter

19 Like a bad tooth and [a]an unsteady foot
Is confidence in a (A)treacherous person in time of trouble.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 25:19 Lit a slipping foot

19 Like a bad tooth or a lame foot
    is trust in a faithless person in time of trouble.

Read full chapter

20 A (A)faithful person will abound with blessings,
But one who (B)hurries to be rich will not go unpunished.

Read full chapter

20 The faithful will abound with blessings,
    but one who is in a hurry to be rich will not go unpunished.(A)

Read full chapter