Proverbs 18

¹He who is selfish seeks a craving;[#Or “boundary”]

²A fool will not take pleasure in understanding,

³With the coming of wickedness comes contempt also,

⁴Deep waters are words of the mouth of a man;

⁵Being partial to faces of evil is not good,

⁶The lips of a fool will bring strife,

⁷The mouth of a fool is ruin to him,

⁸The words of a whisper are like delicious morsels,

⁹Even he who is slack in his work,

¹⁰A tower of strength is the name of Yahweh;

¹¹The wealth of the rich is his strong city,[#Literally “a city of his strength”]

¹²In the presence of destruction, the heart of a man will be haughty,[#Or “mind”]

¹³He who returns a word before he will hear,

¹⁴The spirit of a man will endure his sickness,

¹⁵An intelligent mind will acquire knowledge,[#Literally “heart”]

¹⁶The gift of a person will open doors for him,

¹⁷The first in his dispute is deemed righteous,

¹⁸The lot will put an end to disputes,

¹⁹A brother who is offended is worse than a city of strength,

²⁰From the fruit of a man’s mouth, his stomach will be satisfied,

²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue,[#Literally “hand”]

²²He who finds a wife finds good,[#Or “woman”]

²³The poor may speak entreaties,

²⁴A man of many friends will come to ruin,