10 For wisdom will enter your heart,(A)
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.(B)

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10 When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you;
(A)Understanding will keep you,

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20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.

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20 So you may walk in the way of goodness,
And keep to the paths of righteousness.

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14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
    or walk in the way of evildoers.(A)
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
    turn from it and go on your way.
16 For they cannot rest until they do evil;(B)
    they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.(C)

18 The path of the righteous(D) is like the morning sun,(E)
    shining ever brighter till the full light of day.(F)
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;(G)
    they do not know what makes them stumble.(H)

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14 (A)Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
16 (B)For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is [a]taken away unless they make someone fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.

18 (C)But the path of the just (D)is like the shining [b]sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
19 (E)The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 4:16 Lit. robbed
  2. Proverbs 4:18 Lit. light

20 Walk with the wise and become wise,
    for a companion of fools suffers harm.(A)

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20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

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28 A perverse person stirs up conflict,(A)
    and a gossip separates close friends.(B)

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28 A perverse man sows strife,
And (A)a whisperer separates the best of friends.

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12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
    than a fool bent on folly.(A)

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12 Let a man meet (A)a bear robbed of her cubs,
Rather than a fool in his folly.

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

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

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24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.(A)

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24 A man who has friends [a]must himself be friendly,
(A)But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:24 So with Gr. mss., Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT may come to ruin

Wealth attracts many friends,
    but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.(A)

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(A)Wealth makes many friends,
But the poor is separated from his friend.

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Many curry favor with a ruler,(A)
    and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.(B)

The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
    how much more do their friends avoid them!(C)
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
    they are nowhere to be found.[a](D)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.

Many entreat the favor of the nobility,
And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.
(A)All the brothers of the poor hate him;
How much more do his friends go (B)far from him!
He may pursue them with words, yet they [a]abandon him.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:7 Lit. are not

19 A gossip betrays a confidence;(A)
    so avoid anyone who talks too much.

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19 (A)He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with one (B)who flatters with his lips.

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Saying 3

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
    do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
    and get yourself ensnared.(A)

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24 Make no friendship with an angry man,
And with a (A)furious man do not go,
25 Lest you learn his ways
And set a snare for your soul.

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