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¹ A WISE woman builds her house; but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

² He who walks in uprightness has reverence for the LORD; but he who is perverse in his ways despises him.

³ In the mouth of the foolish is provocation and disgrace; but the lips of wise men shall preserve them.

⁴ Where there are no oxen, the cribs are clean; but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

⁵ A faithful witness will not deceive; but a false witness will utter lies.

⁶ An evil man seeks wisdom, and finds it not; but knowledge is easy to a man of understanding.

⁷ Everything is a hindrance to a foolish man; but the lips of a wise man are like a weapon.

⁸ The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way; but the way of fools is deceit.

⁹ Truly the households of the wicked need purifying; but the households of the righteous are acceptable.

¹⁰ Fools commit sins; but the children of the upright have good will.

¹¹ A heart which has understanding knows its own bitterness; and a stranger does not share in its joy. The house of the wicked shall be destroyed; but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.

¹² There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

¹³ Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of joy is grief.

¹⁴ The insolent in heart shall be filled with the fruit of his ways; and a good man shall be satisfied with the respect he receives.

¹⁵ The simple man believes every word; but the prudent discerns between good and evil.

¹⁶ A wise man is cautious, and departs from evil; but the fool tampers with it confidently.

¹⁷ A man hasty in whatever he does never seeks counsel; but a wise man is moderate.

¹⁸ Fools inherit folly; but the prudent dispense knowledge.

¹⁹ Evil men shall prostrate themselves before good men; and the wicked shall come to beg at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰ The poor is hated even of his own neighbors; but the rich has many friends.

²¹ He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

²² The wicked err when they devise evil; but compassionate and righteous men do all kinds of good. The workers of iniquity do not understand truth and mercy; kindness and truth are with the workers of good things.

²³ In all your labor there is profit; but he who is young is carefree and at ease. The LORD heals every wound; but the talk of the lips of the wicked tends only to poverty.

²⁴ The crown of the wise is their riches; but the perverseness of fools is their folly.

²⁵ A true witness delivers lives; but a deceitful witness speaks falsehood.

²⁶ in reverence for the LORD is strong confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge.²⁷ Reverence for the LORD is a fountain of life to those who turn away from the snares of death.

²⁸ In the abundance of population is the kings honor; but in the destruction of the people is the ruin of the king.

²⁹ He who is slow to anger is of great understanding; but he who is hasty of temper is exceedingly foolish.

³⁰ He who cools down his anger is a healer of his own heart; but wrath is the rottenness of the bones.

³¹ He who oppresses the poor provokes his Maker; but he who honors the LORD has mercy on the needy.

³² The wicked is overthrown through his wickedness; but he who is confident that he is without sin is a righteous man.

³³ Wisdom shall rest in the heart of the righteous; but in the heart of fools it shall not be made known.

³⁴ Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.

³⁵ The kings favor is toward a wise servant; but the wicked shall be overthrown by his own devices. He who is confident that he is without sin is righteous. Anger destroys even wise men.