¹⁰Evil people desire evil;their neighbors get no mercy from them.
¹¹If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded become wise;if you instruct the wise, they will be all the wiser.
¹²The Righteous One#21:12 Or The righteous man. knows what is going on in the homes of the wicked;he will bring disaster on them.
¹³Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poorwill be ignored in their own time of need.
¹⁴A secret gift calms anger;a bribe under the table pacifies fury.
¹⁵Justice is a joy to the godly,but it terrifies evildoers.
¹⁶The person who strays from common sensewill end up in the company of the dead.
¹⁷Those who love pleasure become poor;those who love wine and luxury will never be rich.
¹⁸The wicked are punished in place of the godly,and traitors in place of the honest.
¹⁹It’s better to live alone in the desertthan with a quarrelsome, complaining wife.