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To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion—
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A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
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To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,
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And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
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Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding;
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Do not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm.
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Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.
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For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders all his paths.
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His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
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So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
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The Wicked Man
A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth;
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For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
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Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?
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He will accept no recompense, Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.
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And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding,
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For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men.
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Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.
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“He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
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Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
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Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
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The rich man’s wealth is his strong city; The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
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The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of wisdom.
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To do evil is like sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom.
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As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him.
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When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of the unjust perishes.
