| A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. | A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. |
| The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse. | The lips of the godly speak helpful words, but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse words. |
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| To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. | All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech. |
| The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. | Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. |
| Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. | Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. |
| Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways. For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. | Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways. Such wicked people are detestable to the Lord, but he offers his friendship to the godly. |
| Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. | Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life. |
| Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. | People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed. |
| The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” | The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. |
| The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. | Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. |
| We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. | But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. |
