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18 The wicked man serves as a ransom for the righteous,[a]
    as does the faithless man for the upright.
19 It is better to live alone in the wilderness
    than with a nagging and irritable wife.
20 The house of the wise man is filled with precious treasure and oil,
    but the fool squanders all he has.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:18 The wicked man serves as a ransom for the righteous: this thought is exemplified in the history of Israel; e.g., God ransomed the exiles of Judah from the Persian conqueror Cyrus by giving him three nations (Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba) in ransom (see Isa 43:1ff).

18 The wicked become a ransom(A) for the righteous,
    and the unfaithful for the upright.

19 Better to live in a desert
    than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.(B)

20 The wise store up choice food and olive oil,
    but fools gulp theirs down.

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