Add parallel Print Page Options

17 The friend loves at all times[a],
    but a brother is born for adversity.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:17 Hebrew “time”

17 A friend loves at all times,(A)
and a brother is born for a difficult time.

Read full chapter

24 A man of many friends will come to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Read full chapter

24 A man with many friends may be harmed,[a]
but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.(A)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:24 Some LXX mss, Syr, Tg, Vg read friends must be friendly

The wounds of a friend mean well,
    but the kisses of an enemy are profane.

Read full chapter

The wounds of a friend are trustworthy,(A)
but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.(B)

Read full chapter

Perfume and incense will gladden a heart,
    and the pleasantness of one’s friend is personal advice.[a]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:9 Literally “because of advice of a person”

Oil(A) and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the sweetness of a friend is better than self-counsel.[a]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:9 LXX reads heart, but the soul is torn up by affliction

10 As for your friend and a friend of your father, do not forsake them,
    and the house of your brother, do not enter on the day of your calamity.
    Better is a close neighbor than a distant brother.

Read full chapter

10 Don’t abandon your friend or your father’s friend,(A)
and don’t go to your brother’s house
in your time of calamity;
better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.(B)

Read full chapter