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21
1 My son, hast thou sinned? add no more thereto;
And make supplication for thy former sins.
2 Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent;
For if thou draw nigh it will bite thee:
The teeth thereof are the teeth of a lion,
Slaying the souls of men.
3 All iniquity is as a two-edged sword;
Its stroke hath no healing.
4 Terror and violence will lay waste riches;
So the house of a haughty man shall be laid waste.
5 Supplication from a poor man’s mouth reacheth to the ears of *Gr. him. God,
And his judgement cometh speedily.
6 One that hateth reproof is in the path of the sinner;
And he that feareth the Lord will turn again in his heart.
7 He that is mighty in tongue is known afar off:
But the man of understanding knoweth when he slippeth.
8 He that buildeth his house with other men’s money
Is like one that gathereth himself stones against winter.
9 The congregation of wicked men is as tow wrapped together;
And the end of them is a flame of fire.
10 The way of sinners is made smooth with stones;
And at the last end thereof is the pit of Hades.
11 He that keepeth the law becometh master of the intent thereof;
And the end of the fear of the Lord is wisdom.
12 He that is not clever will not be instructed;
And there is a cleverness which maketh bitterness to abound.
13 The knowledge of a wise man shall be made to abound as a flood;
And his counsel as a fountain of life.
14 The inward parts of a fool are like a broken vessel;
And he will hold no knowledge.
15 If a man of knowledge hear a wise word,
He will commend it, and add unto it:
The dissolute man heareth it, and it displeaseth him,
And he putteth it away behind his back.
16 The discourse of a fool is like a burden in the way;
But grace shall be found on the lips of the wise.
17 The mouth of the prudent man shall be sought for in the congregation;
And they will ponder his words in their heart.
18 As a house that is destroyed, so is wisdom to a fool;
And the knowledge of an unwise man is as †Gr. unexamined words. talk without sense.
19 Instruction is as fetters on the feet of an unwise man,
And as manacles on the right hand.
20 A fool lifteth up his voice with laughter;
But a clever man will scarce smile quietly.
21 Instruction is to a prudent man as an ornament of gold,
And as a bracelet upon his right arm.
22 The foot of a fool is soon in another man’s house;
But a man of experience will be ashamed of entering.
23 A foolish man peepeth in from the door of another man’s house;
But a man that is instructed will stand without.
24 It is a want of instruction in a man to listen at the door;
But the prudent man will be grieved with the disgrace.
25 ‡The text seems to be uncertain. The lips of strangers will be grieved at these things;
But the words of prudent men will be weighed in the balance.
26 The heart of fools is in their mouth;
But the mouth of wise men is their heart.
27 When the ungodly curseth Satan,
He curseth his own soul.
28 A whisperer defileth his own soul,
And shall be hated wheresoever he sojourneth.

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*21:5 Gr. him.

†21:18 Gr. unexamined words.

‡21:25 The text seems to be uncertain.

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