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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10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will delight you.
11 Discretion will watch over you,
and understanding will guard you.(A)

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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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20 So follow the way of the good,(A)
and keep to the paths of the righteous.

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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

14 Keep off the path of the wicked;(A)
don’t proceed on the way of evil ones.
15 Avoid it; don’t travel on it.
Turn away from it, and pass it by.
16 For they can’t sleep
unless they have done what is evil;
they are robbed of sleep
unless they make someone stumble.(B)
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,(C)
shining brighter and brighter until midday.
19 But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom;(D)
they don’t know what makes them stumble.(E)

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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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20 The one who walks with the wise will become wise,
but a companion of fools will suffer harm.

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

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28 A contrary person spreads conflict,
and a gossip separates close friends.(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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12 Better for a person to meet a bear robbed of her cubs(A)
than a fool in his foolishness.

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

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

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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

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

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Footnotes

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

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

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Wealth attracts many friends,(A)
but a poor person is separated from his friend.

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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

Many seek a ruler’s favor,(A)
and everyone is a friend of one who gives gifts.(B)

All the brothers of a poor person hate him;(C)
how much more do his friends
keep their distance from him!
He may pursue them with words,(D)
but they are not there.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 19:7 Hb uncertain

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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19 The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip;(A)
avoid someone with a big mouth.(B)

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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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24 Don’t make friends with an angry person,[a]
and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered one,(A)
25 or you will learn his ways(B)
and entangle yourself in a snare.

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Footnotes

  1. 22:24 Lit with a master of anger