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

12 What are worthless and wicked people like?
    They are constant liars,
13 signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,
    a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
14 Their perverted hearts plot evil,
    and they constantly stir up trouble.
15 But they will be destroyed suddenly,
    broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.

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10 He (A)who winks the eye causes trouble,
And [a](B)a babbling fool will come to ruin.
11 The (C)mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
But (D)the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:10 Lit the foolish of lips

10 People who wink at wrong cause trouble,
    but a bold reproof promotes peace.[a]

11 The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain;
    the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.

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Footnotes

  1. 10:10 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.

The (A)integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the (B)perversity of the treacherous will destroy them.

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Honesty guides good people;
    dishonesty destroys treacherous people.

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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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30 With narrowed eyes, people plot evil;
    with a smirk, they plan their mischief.

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14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
But when he goes his way, then he boasts.

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14 The buyer haggles over the price, saying, “It’s worthless,”
    then brags about getting a bargain!

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(A)Do not eat the bread of [a]a (B)selfish person;
Or desire his delicacies;
For as he [b]thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But (C)his heart is not with you.
You will (D)vomit up [c]the morsel you have eaten
And waste your [d]compliments.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:6 Lit an evil eye
  2. Proverbs 23:7 Lit reckons in his soul
  3. Proverbs 23:8 Lit your
  4. Proverbs 23:8 Lit pleasant words

Don’t eat with people who are stingy;
    don’t desire their delicacies.
They are always thinking about how much it costs.[a]
    “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.
You will throw up what little you’ve eaten,
    and your compliments will be wasted.

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Footnotes

  1. 23:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

23 Like an earthenware (A)vessel overlaid with silver [a](B)impurities
Are burning lips and a wicked heart.
24 One who (C)hates disguises it with his lips,
But he harbors (D)deceit in his [b]heart.
25 When [c]he (E)speaks graciously, do not believe him,
Because there are seven abominations in his heart.
26 Though his hatred (F)covers itself with deception,
His wickedness will be (G)revealed in the assembly.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:23 Lit dross
  2. Proverbs 26:24 Lit inward part
  3. Proverbs 26:25 Lit his voice is gracious

23 Smooth[a] words may hide a wicked heart,
    just as a pretty glaze covers a clay pot.

24 People may cover their hatred with pleasant words,
    but they’re deceiving you.
25 They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them.
    Their hearts are full of many evils.[b]
26 While their hatred may be concealed by trickery,
    their wrongdoing will be exposed in public.

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Footnotes

  1. 26:23 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Burning.
  2. 26:25 Hebrew seven evils.