³ Do not let ^(A)kindness and truth leave you;
^(B)Bind them around your neck,
^(C)Write them on the tablet of your heart.

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

²² Will they who ^(A)devise evil not go astray?
But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

⁶ By ^(A)mercy and truth atonement is made for wrongdoing,
And by ^[a]the ^(B)fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil.

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

²² What is desirable in a person is his ^[a]kindness,
And it is better to be a poor person than a liar.

⁶ Many a person ^(A)proclaims his own loyalty,
But who can find a ^(B)trustworthy person?

^28 [a]Loyalty and ^(A)truth watch over the king,
And he upholds his throne by ^[b]loyalty.