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Fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge;
    wisdom and instruction, fools despise.

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32 for the waywardness of the simple ones will kill them,
    and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

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35 They will inherit the honor of the wise,
    but stubborn fools, disgrace.

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14 Those who are wise lay up knowledge,
    but to the mouth of the fool, ruin draws near.

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21 Lips of righteousness feed many,
    but fools die for lack of sense.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:21 Literally “in the lack of heart, they die”

23 It is like a sport for a fool to do wrong,
    wisdom for a person of understanding.

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29 He who brings trouble to his household, he will inherit wind,[a]
    and a fool will serve the wise of heart.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 11:29 Or “breath, spirit”

In the mouth of a fool is the rod of pride,
    but the lips of the wise preserve them.

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The wisdom of the clever is understanding his ways,
    but the folly of fools is deceit.

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Fools mock[a] the guilt offering,
    but among the upright, it is favorable.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:9 Hebrew “he mocks”

16 The wise is cautious and turns from evil,
    but the fool throws off restraint and is confident.

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24 The crown of the wise is their wealth;
    the folly of fools is folly.

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33 In the heart[a] of him who has understanding, wisdom rests,
    but even in the midst of fools it becomes known.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:33 Or “mind”

The tongue of the wise will dispense knowledge,
    but the mouth of fools will pour out folly.

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A fool will despise the instruction of his father,
    but he who guards reproof is prudent.

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The lips of the wise will spread knowledge,
    but the heart[a] of fools, not so.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:7 Or “mind”

14 The heart of him who understands will seek knowledge,
    but the faces of fools, they[a] will feed on folly.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:14 Hebrew “he/it”

22 A fountain of life is wisdom for its owner,[a]
    but the instruction[b] of fools is folly.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:22 Or “master”
  2. Proverbs 16:22 Or “punishment”

Fine speech[a] is not becoming a fool,
    still less[b] is false speech[c] for a ruler.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:7 Literally “A lip of fineness
  2. Proverbs 17:7 Literally “only for”
  3. Proverbs 17:7 Literally “lip of deceit”

10 A rebuke strikes him who understands
    deeper than one hundred blows to a fool.

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12 May a man meet a she-bear robbed of offspring
    and not a fool in his folly.

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16 Why is this? A price in the hand of a fool,
    in order to buy wisdom where[a] there is no sense.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:16 Hebrew “and”
  2. Proverbs 17:16 Literally “heart”

21 He who begets a fool, there is trouble for him;
    the father of a fool will not rejoice.

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24 He who understands sets his face toward wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool, to the end of the earth.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:24 Or “land”