There is gold and a multitude of rubies, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger, and hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18 Plans are established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war.
19 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.
20 Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in deep darkness.
21 An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will not be blessed at the end.
22 Do not say, “I will recompense evil”; wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord, and dishonest scales are not good.
24 A man’s steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?
25 It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, and afterward to reconsider his vows.
26 A wise king sifts out the wicked, and brings the threshing wheel over them.
27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart.
28 Mercy and truth preserve the king, and by lovingkindness he upholds his throne.
29 The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendour of old men is their grey head.
30 Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart.