The Malicious Man

12 A worthless person,(A) a wicked man
goes around speaking dishonestly,(B)
13 winking(C) his eyes, signaling with his feet,
and gesturing with his fingers.
14 He always plots evil(D) with perversity in his heart;
he stirs up trouble.(E)
15 Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;
he will be shattered instantly, beyond recovery.(F)

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Against Worthlessness

12 A worthless man, an evil man,
    goes around with deceitful speech.[a]
13 Winking in his eye, shuffling in his foot,
    pointing in his fingers,
14 perversion in his heart, he devises evil;
    at all times he will send out discord.[b]
15 Upon such a man,[c] suddenly shall his calamity come;
    in a moment he will be damaged and there is no healing.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:12 Literally “crookedness of mouth”
  2. Proverbs 6:14 Or “quarrels”
  3. Proverbs 6:15 Literally “thus”
  4. Proverbs 6:15 Or “repair”

10 A sly wink of the eye(A) causes grief,
and foolish lips will be destroyed.

11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,(B)
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.(C)

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10 The winking of an eye causes[a] trouble,
    and the foolishness of lips comes to ruin.
11 A fountain of life is a mouth of righteousness,
    and a mouth of wickedness conceals violence.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:10 Or “gives, sets up”

The integrity of the upright guides them,(A)
but the perversity of the treacherous destroys them.(B)

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The integrity of the upright guides them,
    but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.

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30 The one who narrows his eyes is planning deceptions;
the one who compresses his lips brings about evil.(A)

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30 He who winks his eyes does so in order to plan perverse things;
    he who purses his lips will bring evil to pass.

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14 “It’s worthless, it’s worthless!” the buyer says,
but after he is on his way, he gloats.

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14 “Bad, bad,” the buyer will say,
    but when one goes to him, then he will boast.

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Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread,[a](A)
and don’t desire his choice food,(B)
for it’s like someone calculating inwardly.[b](C)
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.(D)
You will vomit the little you’ve eaten
and waste your pleasant words.

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Footnotes

  1. 23:6 Lit eat bread of an evil eye
  2. 23:7 LXX reads it is like someone swallowing a hair in the throat

Do not eat the bread of the stingy,[a]
    and do not desire his delicacies.
For, like hair in his throat,[b] so it is.[c]
    “Eat and drink!” he will say to you,
    but his heart will not be with you.
Your morsel you have eaten, you will vomit it up,
    and you will waste your pleasant words.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:6 Literally “stingy of eye”
  2. Proverbs 23:7 Literally “soul,” or “inner self”
  3. Proverbs 23:7 Or “is he”

23 Smooth[a] lips with an evil heart
are like glaze on an earthen vessel.(A)
24 A hateful person disguises himself with his speech
and harbors deceit within.
25 When he speaks graciously, don’t believe him,
for there are seven detestable things in his heart.(B)
26 Though his hatred is concealed by deception,
his evil will be revealed in the assembly.

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Footnotes

  1. 26:23 LXX; MT reads Burning

23 Like impure silver[a] which overlays an earthen vessel,
    so are smooth lips and an evil heart[b].
24 On his lips, an enemy will pretend,
    but inside[c] he will harbor deceit.
25 When he makes his voice gracious, do not believe him,
    for seven abominations are in his heart.
26 Though hatred is covered with guile,
    its evil will be exposed in the assembly.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:23 Literally “silver of impurities”
  2. Proverbs 26:23 Or “mind”
  3. Proverbs 26:24 Literally “in his midst”