He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
(A)He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

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He stores up success[a] for the upright;
He is a shield for those who live with integrity(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 2:7 Or resourcefulness

The Folly of Indolence

(A)Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no [a]captain,
Overseer or ruler,
Provides her [b]supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:7 Lit. leader
  2. Proverbs 6:8 Lit. bread

Laziness

Go to the ant,(A) you slacker!(B)
Observe its ways and become wise.
Without leader, administrator, or ruler,
it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest.(C)

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12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And find out knowledge and discretion.
13 (A)The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
(B)Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And (C)the perverse mouth I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, (D)I have strength.
15 (E)By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All the judges of [a]the earth.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 8:16 MT, Syr., Tg., Vg. righteousness; LXX, Bg., some mss. and editions earth

12 I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness
and have knowledge and discretion.(A)
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil.(B)
I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct,
and perverse speech.
14 I possess good advice and sound wisdom;[a]
I have understanding and strength.(C)
15 It is by me that kings reign(D)
and rulers enact just law;
16 by me, princes lead,
as do nobles and all righteous judges.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 8:14 Or resourcefulness
  2. 8:16 Some Hb mss, LXX read nobles who judge the earth

The righteousness of the blameless will [a]direct his way aright,
But the wicked will fall by his own (A)wickedness.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 11:5 Or make smooth or straight

The righteousness of the blameless clears his path,
but the wicked person will fall because of his wickedness.

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23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked (A)is wrath.

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23 The desire of the righteous turns out well,(A)
but the hope of the wicked leads to wrath.(B)

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24 (A)The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.

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24 The diligent hand will rule,
but laziness will lead to forced labor.(A)

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(A)A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.

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From the fruit of his mouth,
a person will enjoy good things,(A)
but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.(B)

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13 He who (A)despises the word will be destroyed,
But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

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13 The one who has contempt for instruction will pay the penalty,(A)
but the one who respects a command will be rewarded.(B)

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22 (A)Without counsel, plans go awry,
But in the multitude of counselors they are established.

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22 Plans fail when there is no counsel,
but with many advisers they succeed.(A)

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(A)Commit[a] your works to the Lord,
And your thoughts will be established.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:3 Lit. Roll

Commit your activities to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.(A)

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(A)A man’s heart plans his way,
(B)But the Lord directs his steps.

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A person’s heart plans his way,
but the Lord determines his steps.(A)

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12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For (A)a throne is established by righteousness.

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12 Wicked behavior is detestable to kings,(A)
since a throne is established through righteousness.(B)

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