On sin
1 My child, if you have sinned, don't do it any longer, and pray concerning your previous sins.
2
Run away from sin like you would from a snake: If you go near it, it will bite you. Its teeth are lion's teeth, destroying a person's life.
3
All lawlessness is a two-edged sword, and there's no healing for its wound.
4
Alarm and insolence will strip away wealth; thus will an arrogant person's house be uprooted.
5
The petition of the poor goes from their mouth to God's ears, and his judgment comes quickly.
6
Anyone who hates reproof walks in the footsteps of a sinner, and those who fear the Lord will turn back to him from the heart.
7
Those who are powerful in speech are widely known, but those who are thoughtful know when they slip.
8
Those who build their houses with another person's money are like those who gather stones for their own burial mound.
9
A gathering of lawless people is the same as bundled flax; their end is a flaming fire.
10
The path of sinners is made level with stones, but its end is the pit of hell.
Wisdom and folly
11 Those who keep the Law become masters of their thoughts; fearing the Lord leads ultimately to wisdom.
12
Those who aren't clever won't receive instruction, but there is a kind of cleverness that makes troubles multiply. will increase like a flood, and their counsel is like a stream of life.
13
The knowledge of the wise
14
The mind of a fool is like a broken jar: it can't hold knowledge.
15
If those who understand hear a wise word; they will praise it and add to it. Those who like to indulge themselves hear it and are displeased, and they turn their back on it.
16
A fool's endless talk is a burden while on a journey, but grace will be found on the lips of the intelligent.
17
The speech of the prudent will be sought out in an assembly, and its members will take their words to heart.
18
Like a house in disrepair, so is wisdom to the foolish, and the knowledge of ignorant people will not stand up to examination.
19
Education is shackles on the feet of the ignorant, like manacles on their hand.
20
Fools raise their voice in laughter, but clever people will smile subtly in silence.
21
To the prudent, education is like a gold ornament, like a bracelet on the arm.
22
The foolish enter quickly into a house, but experienced people will be ashamed to do so.
23
The senseless peer into a house through the door, but the educated will stand outside.
24
Ignorance causes people to listen through a door, but the prudent will be distressed at the dishonor of doing so.
25
The lips of strangers will report these things, but the words of the prudent will be placed on a balance.
26
Fools say whatever is on their minds, but the wise remain mindful of what they say.
27
When the ungodly curse their enemies, they curse themselves.
28
Those who whisper stain themselves, and they will be hated by their neighbors.