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11 Discretion will watch over you;
    understanding will protect you,
12 in order to deliver you from the way of evil,[a]
    from a man who speaks devious things—
13 those who forsake the paths of uprightness
    to walk in ways of darkness,
14 those who are happy to do evil,
    for they delight in the deviousness of evil,
15 who are crooked in their ways,[b]
    and devious in their paths;
16 in order to deliver you from a strange woman,
    from a foreign woman who flatters[c] with her sayings,
17 she who forsakes the partner of her youth
    and has forgotten the covenant of her God,
18 for her house sinks to death,
    and to the dead[d] are her paths.
19 Of all who go to her, none shall return,
    nor do they reach paths of life.
20 So that you will walk on the road of those who are good,
    and the paths of those who are righteous you shall keep.
21 For those who are upright will dwell in the land,[e]
    and those who are blameless[f] will remain in it.
22 And those who are wicked will be cut off from the land,
    and those who are treacherous will be uprooted from it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:12 Or “evildoer”
  2. Proverbs 2:15 Literally “that in their ways are crooked”
  3. Proverbs 2:16 Or “makes smooth”
  4. Proverbs 2:18 Or “Rephaim”
  5. Proverbs 2:21 Or “earth”
  6. Proverbs 2:21 Or “innocent”

11 Discretion will (A)watch over you,
Understanding will guard you,
12 To (B)rescue you from the way of evil,
From a person who speaks (C)perverse things;
13 From those who (D)leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the (E)ways of darkness;
14 Who (F)delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
15 Whose paths are (G)crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
16 To (H)rescue you from the strange woman,
From the (I)foreign woman who flatters with her words,
17 Who leaves the (J)companion of her youth
And forgets the (K)covenant of her God;
18 For (L)her house sinks down to death,
And her tracks lead to the [a]dead;
19 None (M)who go to her return,
Nor do they reach the (N)paths of life.
20 So you will (O)walk in the way of good people
And keep to the (P)paths of the righteous.
21 For (Q)the upright will live in the land,
And (R)the blameless will remain in it;
22 But (S)the wicked will be eliminated from the land,
And (T)the treacherous will be (U)torn away from it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:18 Lit departed spirits

31 Do not envy a man of violence,
    and do not choose any of his ways,
32 for he who is perverse is an abomination of Yahweh,
    but those who are upright are his confidence.

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31 (A)Do not envy a violent person,
And do not choose any of his ways.
32 For the (B)devious are an abomination to the Lord;
But [a]He is (C)intimate with the upright.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 3:32 Lit His private counsel is

Against Worthlessness

12 A worthless man, an evil man,
    goes around with deceitful speech.[a]
13 Winking in his eye, shuffling in his foot,
    pointing in his fingers,
14 perversion in his heart, he devises evil;
    at all times he will send out discord.[b]
15 Upon such a man,[c] suddenly shall his calamity come;
    in a moment he will be damaged and there is no healing.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:12 Literally “crookedness of mouth”
  2. Proverbs 6:14 Or “quarrels”
  3. Proverbs 6:15 Literally “thus”
  4. Proverbs 6:15 Or “repair”

12 A (A)worthless person, a wicked man,
Is one who walks with a (B)perverse mouth,
13 Who (C)winks with his eyes, who [a]signals with his feet,
Who [b]points with his fingers;
14 Who, with (D)perversion in his heart, continually (E)devises evil,
Who [c](F)spreads strife.
15 Therefore (G)his disaster will come suddenly;
(H)Instantly he will be broken and there will be (I)no healing.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:13 Lit scrapes
  2. Proverbs 6:13 Lit instructs with
  3. Proverbs 6:14 Lit sends out

Blessings belong to the head of the righteous,
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

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(A)Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
But (B)the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

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11 A fountain of life is a mouth of righteousness,
    and a mouth of wickedness conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
    but love covers over all offenses.
13 On the lips of one who has understanding, wisdom is found,
    but a rod is for the back of one who lacks sense.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:13 Literally “heart”

11 The (A)mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
But (B)the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
But (C)love covers all offenses.
13 On (D)the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found,
But (E)a rod is for the back of him who has no [a]sense.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:13 Lit heart

18 He who conceals hatred has lips of deceit,
    and he who utters slander—he is a fool.

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18 One (A)who conceals hatred has lying lips,
And one who spreads slander is a fool.

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13 A gossip walks about telling a secret,
    but the trustworthy in spirit keeps the matter.

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13 One (A)who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
But one who is [a]trustworthy (B)conceals a matter.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 11:13 Lit faithful of spirit

15 The way of a fool is upright in his own eyes,
    but he who listens to advice is wise.
16 As for a fool, on that very day[a] he makes his anger known,
    but he who ignores an insult is prudent.
17 He who will speak truth will reveal righteousness,
    but the witness of falsehood, deceit.
18 There is one who speaks rashly, like the thrust of a sword,
    but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:16 Literally “on the day”

15 The (A)way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
But a person who listens to advice is wise.
16 A (B)fool’s anger is known at once,
But a prudent person conceals dishonor.
17 One who declares truth tells what is right,
But a false witness, deceit.
18 There is one who (C)speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,
But the (D)tongue of the wise brings healing.

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16 Anyone who is clever will act with intelligence,
    but the fool will display folly.

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16 Every (A)prudent person acts with knowledge,
But a fool [a]displays foolishness.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:16 Lit spreads out

27 A man of wickedness concocts evil,
    and his lips are like a scorching fire.
28 A person of perversity will spread dissent,
    and he who whispers separates a close friend.
29 A person of violence will entice his neighbor
    and cause him to walk on a way that is not good.
30 He who winks his eyes does so in order to plan perverse things;
    he who purses his lips will bring evil to pass.

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27 A (A)worthless person digs up evil,
While [a]his words are like (B)scorching fire.
28 A perverse person spreads strife,
And a [b]slanderer separates close friends.
29 A person of violence (C)entices his neighbor
And leads him in a way that is not good.
30 He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things;
He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:27 Lit on his lips
  2. Proverbs 16:28 Or gossip

He who does evil listens to lips of wickedness,
    and the liar gives heed to the tongue of mischief.

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An (A)evildoer listens to wicked lips;
A [a]liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 Lit falsehood

He who forgives an affront fosters love,
    but he who waits on a matter will alienate a friend.

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One who (A)conceals an offense seeks love,
But one who repeats a matter (B)separates close friends.

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