14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
    or walk in the way of evildoers.(A)
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
    turn from it and go on your way.
16 For they cannot rest until they do evil;(B)
    they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.(C)

18 The path of the righteous(D) is like the morning sun,(E)
    shining ever brighter till the full light of day.(F)
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;(G)
    they do not know what makes them stumble.(H)

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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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20 Walk with the wise and become wise,
    for a companion of fools suffers harm.(A)

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

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Stay away from a fool,
    for you will not find knowledge on their lips.

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Leave the presence of a fool,
    for there you do not find words of knowledge.

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19 Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed
    than to share plunder with the proud.

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19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit among the poor
    than to divide the spoil with the proud.

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19 A gossip betrays a confidence;(A)
    so avoid anyone who talks too much.

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

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In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,(A)
    but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

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Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
    the cautious will keep far from them.(A)

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Saying 3

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
    do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
    and get yourself ensnared.(A)

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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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Saying 9

Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
    do not crave his delicacies;(A)
for he is the kind of person
    who is always thinking about the cost.[a]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
    but his heart is not with you.
You will vomit up the little you have eaten
    and will have wasted your compliments.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is

Do not eat the bread of the stingy;
    do not desire their delicacies,(A)
for like a hair in the throat, so are they.[a]
    “Eat and drink!” they say to you,
    but they do not mean it.(B)
You will vomit up the little you have eaten,
    and you will waste your pleasant words.

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Footnotes

  1. 23.7 Meaning of Heb uncertain

20 Do not join those who drink too much wine(A)
    or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,(B)
    and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

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20 Do not be among winebibbers
    or among gluttonous eaters of meat,(A)
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
    and drowsiness will clothe them with rags.(B)

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Saying 20

24 Do not envy(A) the wicked,
    do not desire their company;
for their hearts plot violence,(B)
    and their lips talk about making trouble.(C)

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24 Do not envy the wicked,
    nor desire to be with them,(A)
for their minds devise violence,
    and their lips talk of mischief.(B)

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Saying 30

21 Fear the Lord and the king,(A) my son,
    and do not join with rebellious officials,
22 for those two will send sudden destruction(B) on them,
    and who knows what calamities they can bring?

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21 My child, fear the Lord and the king,
    and do not disobey either of them,[a](A)
22 for disaster comes from them suddenly,
    and who knows the ruin that both can bring?

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Footnotes

  1. 24.21 Gk: Heb do not associate with those who change