¹⁷ The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who watches his way preserves his ^[a]life.
¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
¹⁹ It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
²⁰ He who gives attention to the word will find good,
And blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
²¹ The wise in heart will be called understanding,
And sweetness of ^[b]speech increases ^[c]persuasiveness.
²² Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it,
But the discipline of fools is folly.
²³ The heart of the wise instructs his mouth
And adds ^[d]persuasiveness to his lips.
²⁴ Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
²⁵ There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.
²⁶ A worker’s appetite works for him,
For his ^[e]hunger urges him on.
²⁷ A worthless man digs up evil,
While ^[f]his words are like scorching fire.
²⁸ A perverse man spreads strife,
And a slanderer separates intimate friends.
²⁹ A man of violence entices his neighbor
And leads him in a way that is not good.
³⁰ He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things;
He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.
³¹ A gray head is a crown of glory;
It is found in the way of righteousness.
³² He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.
³³ The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the Lord.