5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked

and so deprive the innocent of justice.

6 The lips of fools bring them strife,

and their mouths invite a beating.

7 The mouths of fools are their undoing,

and their lips are a snare to their very lives.

5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked,

To overthrow the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calleth for strokes.

7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

5 It is not right to acquit the guilty

or deny justice to the innocent.

6 Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels;

they are asking for a beating.

7 The mouths of fools are their ruin;

they trap themselves with their lips.

5 It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,

Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calls for blows.

7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

5 It is not good to honor the wicked

or to be unfair to the innocent.

6 The words of fools start quarrels.

They make people want to beat them.

7 The words of fools will ruin them;

their own words will trap them.

5 To respect the person of the wicked is not good,

Nor to turn aside the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calleth for stripes.

7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to wrong the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for stripes. 7 A fool’s mouth is destruction to him, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

5 It is not good to be partial toward a wicked person, 

thereby depriving an innocent person of justice. 

6 By talking, a fool gets into an argument, 

and his mouth invites a beating. 

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin. 

His lips are a trap to his soul. 

5 It is not good to show partiality to the guilty

by perverting the justice due the innocent.

6 A fool’s lips lead to strife,

and his mouth provokes a beating.

7 A fool’s mouth is his devastation,

and his lips are a trap for his life.

5 It is not right to be partial to the guilty,

or to subvert the innocent in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips bring strife,

and a fool’s mouth invites a flogging.

7 The mouths of fools are their ruin,

and their lips a snare to themselves.

5 Being partial to faces of evil is not good,

nor to subvert the righteous at the judgment.

6 The lips of a fool will bring strife,

and his mouth calls out for a flogging.

7 The mouth of a fool is ruin to him,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

5 It isn’t good to favor those who do wrong.

And it isn’t good to hold back what is fair from those who aren’t guilty.

6 What a foolish person says leads to arguing.

He is just asking for a beating.

7 The words of a foolish person drag him down.

He is trapped by what he says.

5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good,

Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips bring strife,

And his mouth calls for blows.

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.