Prov 13:20

“He who walks with the wise will be wise, etc. To walk with the wise is to imitate the actions of the wise. Therefore, however simple and rustic one may be, who cannot comprehend the secrets of wisdom, if he nevertheless follows the examples of the wise by living, he will rightly be counted among the wise. But he who loves the foolish, not because of their nature, since they are men, but because of their foolishness, whether as mimes or actors, or such like, not to correct by instructing, but to make them worse by favoring: such a one, though he seems wise by wit and doctrine, will be held worthy of the mark and condemnation of fools.”

“20 Whoever goes with wise men, becomes wise; And whoever has intercourse with fools, becomes base. Regarding the significance of this proverb in the history of the religion and worship of Israel, vid., p. 39. We have translated 20a after the Kerı̂; the translation according to the Chethı̂b is: "go with wise men and become wise" (cf. Pro 8:33), not הלוך, for the connection of the (meant imperatively) infin. absol. with an imper. (meant conclusively) is not tenable; but הלוך is an imper. form established by הלכוּ, Jer 51:50 (cf. הלוך = לכת, Num 22:14), and appears to have been used with such shades of conception as here as intercourse and companionship for לך. Regarding ירוע gnid, vid., at Pro 11:15; there it meant malo afficietur, here it means malus (pejor) fiet. The Venet. (contrary to Kimchi, who explains by frangetur) rightly has κακωθήσεται. There is here a play upon words; רעה means to tend (a flock), also in general to be considerate about anything (Pro 15:14; 44:20), to take care of anything with the accusative of the person (Pro 28:7; Pro 29:3), to hold intercourse with any one: he who by preference seeks the society of fools, himself becomes such (Jerome, similis efficietur), or rather, as ירוע expresses, he comes always morally lower down. "A wicked companion leads his associate into hell."”