An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
    and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

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A wicked person listens to malicious talk;[a]
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 Lit to lips of iniquity

20 (A)A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

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20 One with a twisted mind will not succeed,
and one with deceitful speech will fall into ruin.(A)

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19 (A)Better is a poor person who (B)walks in his integrity
    than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.

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19 Better a poor man who lives with integrity(A)
than someone who has deceitful lips and is a fool.

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18 Like a madman who throws (A)firebrands, arrows, and death
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor
    and says, “I am only joking!”

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18 Like a madman who throws flaming darts and deadly arrows,(A)
19 so is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I was only joking!”

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28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
    and a flattering mouth works ruin.

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28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes,
and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

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