¹Many sin for profit,

and those who seek riches will look the other way.

²As a stake is driven between stones,

so also is sin wedged between selling and buying.

³Unless people continually fear the Lord,

their house will quickly collapse.

⁴When a sieve is shaken, the chaff remains;

likewise, a person’s faults are revealed when he speaks.

⁵Just as a furnace tests the potter’s vessels,

so also people are tested by their speech.

⁶As the fruit of a tree shows the quality of its cultivation,

so also people’s speech shows their true character.

⁷Do not praise people before they speak,

for this is how they are tested.

⁸If you pursue justice, you will obtain it

and wear it as a splendid robe.

⁹Just as birds roost with their own kind,

so honesty is repaid to those who practice it.

¹⁰The lion lies in wait for prey,

and so do sins for those who practice evil.

Wise Conversation

¹¹The godly always speak wisely,

but a fool is as changeable as the moon.

¹²Don’t spend much time with foolish people,

but stay among those who are thoughtful.

¹³Fools always say offensive things,

and they laugh at sinful practices.

¹⁴Their swearing makes your hair stand on end,

and their quarrels make people hold their ears.

¹⁵The quarrels of the proud lead to bloodshed,

and their insults are grievous to hear.

¹⁶Whoever betrays secrets destroys trust

and will never find a close friend.

¹⁷Love your friend and maintain his trust.

But if you betray his secrets, stay away from him.

¹⁸For as a person destroys an enemy,

so you have destroyed friendship with your neighbor.

¹⁹And as you let a bird escape from your hand,

so you have let your friend go and will not recapture him.

²⁰Do not chase after him, for he is gone.

He has escaped like a gazelle from a snare.

²¹A wound can be bandaged,

and insults can be forgiven,

but those who betray secrets have no hope.

Regarding Those Who Plot Evil

²²Those who slyly wink are planning mischief,

and those who know them will keep their distance.

²³In your presence they are sweet tongued,

and they admire your words.

But later they will change their story

and use your own words to condemn you.

²⁴I have hated many things, but I hate them the most.

The Lord even hates such people, too.

²⁵To throw a stone straight up is to throw it on your own head,

and backstabbing will wound many.

²⁶Those who dig a pit will fall into it,

and those who set a snare will be caught in it.

²⁷Those who do evil will be crushed by it

and not know where it came from.

²⁸Mockery and insults come from the proud,

yet vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion.

²⁹Those who rejoice in the fall of the godly will be caught in a snare,

and pain will overwhelm them before they die.

Anger and Forgiveness

³⁰Anger and fury are also detestable,

but the sinner is a master at both of them.