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Silence and Speech

20 There is a rebuke that is untimely,
    and there is the person who is wise enough to keep silent.(A)
How much better it is to rebuke than to fume!(B)
And the one who admits his fault will be kept from ridicule.(C)
Like a eunuch lusting to violate a young woman
    is the person who makes decisions under compulsion.(D)
Some people keep silent and are found[a] to be wise,
    while others are detested for being talkative.(E)
Some people keep silent because they have nothing to say,
    while others keep silent because they know when to speak.(F)
The wise remain silent until the right moment,
    but the arrogant and the fool miss the right moment.(G)
Whoever talks too much is detested,
    and whoever pretends to authority is hated.[b](H)

Paradoxes

There may be good fortune for a person in adversity,
    and a windfall may result in a loss.
10 There is the gift that profits you nothing
    and the gift to be paid back double.
11 There are losses for the sake of glory,
    and there are some who have raised their heads from humble circumstances.(I)
12 Some buy much for little
    but pay for it seven times over.
13 The wise make themselves beloved by only few words,[c]
    but the courtesies of fools are wasted.(J)
14 A fool’s gift will profit you nothing,[d]
    for he looks for recompense sevenfold.[e]
15 He gives little and insults much;
    he opens his mouth like a town crier.
Today he lends, and tomorrow he asks it back;
    such a one is hateful.[f](K)
16 The fool says, “I have no friends,
    and I get no thanks for my good deeds.”
    Those who eat his bread are evil-tongued.
17 How many will ridicule him, and how often![g]

Inappropriate Speech

18 A slip on the pavement is better than a slip of the tongue;
    the downfall of the wicked will occur just as speedily.(L)
19 A coarse person is like an inappropriate story,
    continually on the lips of the ignorant.(M)
20 A proverb from a fool’s lips will be rejected,
    for he does not tell it at the proper time.(N)

21 One may be prevented from sinning by poverty,
    so when he rests he feels no remorse.(O)
22 One may lose his life through shame
    or lose it because of a foolish person.[h](P)
23 One may make promises to a friend out of shame
    and so make an enemy for nothing.

Lying

24 A lie is an ugly blot on a person;
    it is continually on the lips of the ignorant.(Q)
25 A thief is preferable to a habitual liar,
    but both will inherit ruin.
26 The character of liars leads to disgrace,
    and their shame is ever with them.

Proverbial Sayings[i]

27 Wise persons advance themselves by their words,
    and those who are sensible please the great.(R)
28 Those who cultivate the soil heap up their harvest,
    and those who please the great atone for injustice.(S)
29 Favors and gifts blind the eyes of the wise;
    like a muzzle on the mouth they stop reproofs.(T)
30 Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure—
    of what value is either?(U)
31 Better are those who hide their folly
    than those who hide their wisdom.[j](V)

Footnotes

  1. 20.5 Gk: Heb thought
  2. 20.8 Other ancient authorities add How good it is to show repentance when you are reproved, for so you will escape deliberate sin!
  3. 20.13 Heb: Gk by words
  4. 20.14 Other ancient authorities add so it is with the envious who give under compulsion
  5. 20.14 Syr: Gk he has many eyes instead of one
  6. 20.15 Other ancient authorities add to God and humans
  7. 20.17 Other ancient authorities add for he has not honestly received what he has, and what he does not have is unimportant to him
  8. 20.22 Other ancient authorities read human respect
  9. 20.27 This heading is included in the Gk text.
  10. 20.31 Other ancient authorities add 20.32: Unwearied endurance in seeking the Lord is better than a masterless charioteer of one’s own life.