¹A man who isolates himself pursues selfishness,

and defies all sound judgement.

²A fool has no delight in understanding ,

but only in revealing his own opinion .

³When wickedness comes , contempt also comes ,

and with shame comes disgrace .

⁴The words of a man ’s mouth are like deep waters .

The fountain of wisdom is like a flowing brook .

⁵To be partial to the faces of the wicked is not good ,

nor to deprive the innocent of justice .

⁶A fool ’s lips come into strife ,

and his mouth invites beatings.

⁷A fool ’s mouth is his destruction ,

and his lips are a snare to his soul .

⁸The words of a gossip are like dainty morsels :

they go down into a person’s innermost parts .

⁹One who is slack in his work

is brother to him who is a master of destruction .

¹⁰The LORD ’s name is a strong tower :

the righteous run to him , and are safe .

¹¹The rich man ’s wealth is his strong city ,

like an unscalable wall in his own imagination .

¹²Before destruction the heart of man is proud ,

but before honour is humility .

¹³He who answers before he hears ,

that is folly and shame to him .

¹⁴A man ’s spirit will sustain him in sickness ,

but a crushed spirit , who can bear ?

¹⁵The heart of the discerning gets knowledge .

The ear of the wise seeks knowledge .

¹⁶A man ’s gift makes room for him ,

and brings him before great men .

¹⁷He who pleads his cause first seems right —

until another comes and questions him.

¹⁸The lot settles disputes ,

and keeps strong ones apart .

¹⁹A brother offended is more difficult than a fortified city .

Disputes are like the bars of a fortress .

²⁰A man’s stomach is filled with the fruit of his mouth .

With the harvest of his lips he is satisfied .

²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue ;

those who love it will eat its fruit .

²²Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing ,

and obtains favour of the LORD .

²³The poor plead for mercy,

but the rich answer harshly .

²⁴A man of many companions may be ruined,

but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother .