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10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 prudence will watch over you,
    and understanding will guard you.

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10 Wisdom will enter your mind,
    and knowledge will fill you with delight.
11 Discretion will guard you;
    understanding will protect you.

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20 Therefore walk in the way of the good,
    and keep to the paths of the just.

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20 So you should stay on the path of good people,
    guarding the road of the righteous.

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14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
    and do not walk in the way of evildoers.(A)
15 Avoid it; do not go on it;
    turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
    they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.(B)
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
    which shines brighter and brighter until full day.(C)
19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
    they do not know what they stumble over.(D)

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14 Don’t go on the way of the wicked;
    don’t walk on the path of evil people.
15 Avoid it! Don’t turn onto it;
    stay off of it and keep going!
16 They don’t sleep unless they do evil;
    they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of evil,
    and they drink the wine of violence.
18 The way of the righteous is like morning light
    that gets brighter and brighter till it is full day.
19 The path of the wicked is like deep darkness;
    they don’t know where they will stumble.

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20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
    but the companion of fools suffers harm.(A)

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20 Walk with wise people and become wise;
    befriend fools and get in trouble.

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28 A perverse person spreads strife,
    and a whisperer separates close friends.(A)

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28 Destructive people produce conflict;
    gossips alienate close friends.

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12 Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs
    than to confront a fool immersed in folly.(A)

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12 Safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
    than fools in their folly.

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17 A friend loves at all times,
    and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.(A)

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17 Friends love all the time,
    and kinsfolk are born for times of trouble.

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24 Some[a] friends play at friendship,[b]
    but a true friend sticks closer than one’s sibling.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 18.24 Syr Tg: Heb A man of
  2. 18.24 Cn Compare Syr Vg Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain

24 There are persons for companionship,
    but then there are friends who are more loyal than family.

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Wealth brings many friends,
    but the poor are left friendless.(A)

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Riches increase one’s friends,
    but the poor lose their friends.

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Many seek the favor of the generous,
    and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.(A)
If the poor are hated even by their kin,
    how much more are they shunned by their friends!
When they call after them, they are not there.[a](B)

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Footnotes

  1. 19.7 Meaning of Heb uncertain

Many seek favor from rulers;
    everyone befriends a gift giver.
All the relatives of the poor hate them;
    even more, their friends stay far from them.
    When they pursue them with words, they aren’t there.

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19 A gossip reveals secrets;
    therefore do not associate with a babbler.(A)

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19 Gossips reveal secrets;
    don’t associate with those who talk too much.

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24 Make no friends with those given to anger,
    and do not associate with hotheads,
25 lest you learn their ways
    and entangle yourself in a snare.

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24 Don’t befriend people controlled by anger;
    don’t associate with hot-tempered people;
25     otherwise, you will learn their ways
    and become trapped.

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