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20:1  There is a bad time to rebuke someone. Those who keep silent are the prudent ones.
20:2  How much better to investigate than to be angry!
20:3  And those who confess openly will be kept from loss.
20:4  Like eunuchs desiring to violate a girl, so are those who make decisions by force.
20:5  There are people who are silent and are found to be wise, and there are those who are hated because they talk a lot.
20:6  There are those who keep silent because they have nothing to say in response, and there are those who keep silent because they know the right time.
20:7  Wise people keep silent until the proper moment, but those who swagger and are senseless will miss the right moment.
20:8  Those who talk excessively will be loathed, and those who pretend to have authority will be hated.
20:9  Some people have success in bad circumstances, and there’s a windfall that results in loss.
20:10  There’s a gift that won’t profit you, and there’s a gift that will bring twice the return.
20:11  There are losses suffered for the sake of one’s reputation, and there are people who have raised their heads from humiliation.
20:12  There are those who buy a lot for a little, and they pay for it seven times over.
20:13  Wise people make themselves dearly loved by means of words, but fools pour out gifts.
20:14  Gifts from senseless people won’t profit you, because they look for a lot rather than a little in return.
20:15  They will give a little and reproach a lot, and they will open their mouths like a town crier. Today they will lend and tomorrow ask for it back; such people are hateful.
20:16  Fools say, “I don’t have a friend, and there’s no gratitude for my good deeds.” Those who eat the bread of such people have mean tongues.
20:17  How many will ridicule them, and how often?
20:18  A slip on the pavement is preferable to a slip of the tongue; so the downfall of evil people will come quickly.
20:19  A disagreeable person, an untimely story— it will always be in the mouth of the uneducated.
20:20  Proverbs told by fools will be rejected, because they’ll never tell them at their proper time.
20:21  Some are prevented from sinning because of poverty, and their conscience won’t be pained when they rest.
20:22  Some destroy their life through shame, and they destroy it because of foolish appearances.
20:23  Some promise a favor to a friend out of shame, and they create an enemy for no reason.
20:24  A lie is a bad blemish on a person; ignorant people tell them incessantly.
20:25  A thief is preferable to someone who continuously lies, but both will inherit destruction.
20:26  The character of liars is dishonorable; their shame is continuously with them.
20:27  Wise people distinguish themselves by their words, and prudent people will please the powerful.
20:28  Those who work the soil will pile up their harvest, and those who please the powerful will secure reconciliation for injuries.
20:29  Friendly relationships and gifts will blind the eyes of the wise; like a muzzle on a mouth, they turn away reproof.
20:30  Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure— of what benefit is either?
20:31  Better are those who hide their foolishness than those who hide their wisdom.