Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
(A)Bind them around your neck,
(B)Write them on the tablet of your heart,

Read full chapter

Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.
Tie them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(A)

Read full chapter

13 (A)A talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is of a faithful spirit (B)conceals a matter.

Read full chapter

13 A gossip goes around revealing a secret,
but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.(A)

Read full chapter

22 Do they not go astray who devise evil?
But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.

Read full chapter

22 Don’t those who plan evil go astray?(A)
But those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness.(B)

Read full chapter

(A)In mercy and truth
Atonement is provided for iniquity;
And (B)by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.

Read full chapter

Iniquity is atoned for by loyalty and faithfulness,(A)
and one turns from evil by the fear of the Lord.(B)

Read full chapter

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

Read full chapter

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

Read full chapter

22 What is desired in a man is [a]kindness,
And a poor man is better than a liar.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:22 Lit. lovingkindness

22 What is desirable in a person is his fidelity;
better to be a poor person than a liar.(A)

Read full chapter

Most men will proclaim each his own [a]goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:6 Lit. mercy

Many a person proclaims his own loyalty,
but who can find a trustworthy person?(A)

Read full chapter

28 (A)Mercy and truth preserve the king,
And by [a]lovingkindness he upholds his throne.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:28 mercy

28 Loyalty and faithfulness guard a king;
through loyalty he maintains his throne.

Read full chapter

26 My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways.
27 (A)For a harlot is a deep pit,
And a seductress is a narrow well.
28 (B)She also lies in wait as for a victim,
And increases the unfaithful among men.

Read full chapter

26 My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit,(A)
and a wayward woman is a narrow well;
28 indeed, she sets an ambush like a robber(B)
and increases the number of unfaithful people.

Read full chapter

13 (A)Like the cold of snow in time of harvest
Is a faithful messenger to those who send him,
For he refreshes the soul of his masters.

Read full chapter

13 To those who send him, a trustworthy envoy
is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day;
he refreshes the life of his masters.(A)

Read full chapter

19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble
Is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.

Read full chapter

19 Trusting an unreliable person in a difficult time
is like a rotten tooth or a faltering foot.(A)

Read full chapter

20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,
(A)But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

Read full chapter

20 A faithful person will have many blessings,(A)
but one in a hurry to get rich(B)
will not go unpunished.

Read full chapter