Proverbs 18
Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked
1 One who separates himself seeks his own desire;
He ▼
▼Lit breaks out
bquarrels against all sound wisdom. 2 A fool does not delight in understanding,
But cin revealing his own ▼
▼Lit heart
mind. 3 When a wicked person comes, contempt also comes,
And with dishonor comes taunting.
4 The words of a person’s mouth are edeep waters;
▼
▼Or A bubbling brook, a fountain of wisdom
The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. 5 To gshow partiality to the wicked is not good,
Nor to hsuppress the righteous in judgment.
6 A fool’s lips ▼
▼Lit come with
bring strife, And his mouth invites jbeatings.
7 A kfool’s mouth is his ruin,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a gossiper are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the ▼
▼Lit chambers of the belly
innermost parts of the body. 9 He also who is mlax in his work
nIs a brother to him who destroys.
10 The oname of the Lord is a pstrong tower;
The righteous runs into it and qis ▼
▼Lit set on high
safe. 11 A srich person’s wealth is his strong city,
And like a high wall in his own imagination.
12 tBefore destruction the heart of a person is haughty,
But uhumility goes before honor.
13 One who vgives an answer before he hears,
It is foolishness and shame to him.
14 The wspirit of a person can endure his sickness,
But as for a xbroken spirit, who can endure it?
15 The ▼
▼Lit heart
zmind of the discerning acquires knowledge, And the aaear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A person’s abgift makes room for him
And brings him before great people.
17 The first ▼
▼Lit in his plea
to plead his case seems right, Until ▼
▼Lit his neighbor
another comes and examines him. 18 The cast aelot puts an end to quarrels,
And ▼
▼Lit makes a division
decides between the mighty ones. 19 A brother who is offended is harder to be won than a strong city,
And quarrels are like the bars of a citadel.
20 With the ▼
▼I.e., speech
ahfruit of a person’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied; aiHe will be satisfied with the product of his lips.
21 ajDeath and life are in the ▼
▼Lit hand
power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its alfruit.
22 He who finds a amwife finds a good thing
And anobtains favor from the Lord.
23 A aopoor person utters pleadings,
But a aprich person aqanswers defiantly.
24 A person of too many friends comes to ▼
▼Lit be broken in pieces
ruin, But there is asa friend who sticks closer than a brother.
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