Proverbs 18

18He who is selfish seeks a craving;^a

against all sound judgment he shows contempt.

²A fool will not take pleasure in understanding,

but in expressing his heart.^b

³With the coming of wickedness comes contempt also,

and with dishonor, disgrace.

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

a gushing stream is a fountain of wisdom.

⁵Being partial to faces of evil is not good,

nor to subvert the righteous at the judgment.

⁶The lips of a fool will bring strife,

and his mouth calls out for a flogging.

⁷The mouth of a fool is ruin to him,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.^c

⁸The words of a whisper are like delicious morsels,

and they themselves go down to inner parts of the body.

⁹Even he who is slack in his work,

he is brother to a master^d of destruction.

¹⁰A tower of strength is the name of Yahweh;

into him^e the righteous will run and be safe.

¹¹The wealth of the rich is his strong city,^f

and like a wall, it is high in his imagination.

¹²In the presence of destruction, the heart^g of a man will be haughty,

but in the presence of honor, humble.

¹³He who returns a word before he will hear,

folly itself belongs to him as well as^h shame.

¹⁴The spirit of a man will endure his sickness,

but a broken spirit, who may bear it?

¹⁵An intelligent mindⁱ will acquire knowledge,

and the ear of the wise will seek knowledge.

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

and before the great, it gives him access.

¹⁷The first in his dispute is deemed righteous,

but his neighbor will come and examine him.

¹⁸The lot will put an end to disputes,

and between powerful contenders it will decide.

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

and quarrels are like the bars of a fortification.

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

as for the yield of his lips, it will satisfy.

²¹Death and life are in the power^j of the tongue,

and those who love her^k will eat of her fruit.

²²He who finds a wife^l finds good,

and he will obtain favor from Yahweh.

²³The poor may speak entreaties,

but the rich will answer roughly.

²⁴A man of many friends will come to ruin,

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