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14 Wise men store up knowledge,
    but the mouth of a fool precipitates ruin.
15 The wealth of the rich man is his stronghold;
    the poverty of the lowly is his undoing.[a]
16 The reward of the righteous leads to life;
    the gains of the wicked lead to sin.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:15 This verse states an obvious fact of human life: money is power and poverty is powerlessness; but the author does not approve of this fact. It is true that wealth brings friends (Prov 14:20; 19:4) and power (Prov 18:23; 22:7), while poverty has no influence (Prov 18:23), no friends (Prov 19:4, 7), and no security. However, the only real security is found in God (Ps 52:7-10).
  2. Proverbs 10:16 The gains of the wicked lead to sin: and the corollary to this is Paul’s dictum: “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23).

14 The wise store up knowledge,(A)
    but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.(B)

15 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,(C)
    but poverty is the ruin of the poor.(D)

16 The wages of the righteous is life,(E)
    but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.(F)

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