| A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends. | A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. |
| Put away from yourself a perverse mouth. Put corrupt lips far from you. | Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. |
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| The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse. | The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse. |
| The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth. | To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. |
| Don’t envy the man of violence. Choose none of his ways. For the perverse is an abomination to Yahweh, but his friendship is with the upright. | Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways. For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. |
| Do all things without complaining and arguing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, holding up the word of life. | 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. |
| A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but deceit in it crushes the spirit. | The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. |
| The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them. | The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. |
| He who walks blamelessly walks surely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out. | Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. |
| The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt. Who can know it? “I, Yahweh, search the mind. I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” | 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.” |
| We have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your precepts and from your ordinances. | We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. |
