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20:1  There is a reproof which is not timely; and there is a man who keeps silent but is wise.
20:2  How much better it is to reprove than to stay angry! And the one who confesses his fault will be kept from loss.
20:4  Like a eunuch’s desire to violate a maiden is a man who executes judgments by violence.
20:5  There is one who by keeping silent is found wise, while another is detested for being too talkative.
20:6  There is one who keeps silent because he has no answer, while another keeps silent because he knows when to speak.
20:7  A wise man will be silent until the right moment, but a braggart and fool goes beyond the right moment.
20:8  Whoever uses too many words will be loathed, and whoever usurps the right to speak will be hated.
20:9  There may be good fortune for a man in adversity, and a windfall may result in a loss.
20:10  There is a gift that profits you nothing, and there is a gift that brings a double return.
20:11  There are losses because of glory, and there are men who have raised their heads from humble circumstances.
20:12  There is a man who buys much for a little, but pays for it seven times over.
20:13  The wise man makes himself beloved through his words, but the courtesies of fools are wasted.
20:14  A fool’s gift will profit you nothing, for he has many eyes instead of one.
20:15  He gives little and upbraids much, he opens his mouth like a herald; today he lends and tomorrow he asks it back; such a one is a hateful man.
20:16  A fool will say, “I have no friend, and there is no gratitude for my good deeds; those who eat my bread speak unkindly.”
20:17  How many will ridicule him, and how often!
20:18  A slip on the pavement is better than a slip of the tongue; so the downfall of the wicked will occur speedily.
20:19  An ungracious man is like a story told at the wrong time, which is continually on the lips of the ignorant.
20:20  A proverb from a fool’s lips will be rejected, for he does not tell it at its proper time.
20:21  A man may be prevented from sinning by his poverty, so when he rests he feels no remorse.
20:22  A man may lose his life through shame, or lose it because of his foolish look.
20:23  A man may for shame make promises to a friend, and needlessly make him an enemy.
20:24  A lie is an ugly blot on a man; it is continually on the lips of the ignorant.
20:25  A thief is preferable to a habitual liar, but the lot of both is ruin.
20:26  The disposition of a liar brings disgrace, and his shame is ever with him.
20:27  He who speaks wisely will advance himself, and a sensible man will please great men.
20:28  Whoever cultivates the soil will heap up his harvest, and whoever pleases great men will atone for injustice.
20:29  Presents and gifts blind the eyes of the wise; like a muzzle on the mouth they avert reproofs.
20:30  Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure, what advantage is there in either of them?
20:31  Better is the man who hides his folly than the man who hides his wisdom.