< Proverbs 18 >
1 He who is separated seeks [his own] desire, He interferes with all wisdom.
2 A fool does not delight in understanding, But in uncovering his heart.
3 Contempt has also come with the coming of the wicked, And with shame—reproach.
4 The words of a man’s mouth [are] deep waters, The fountain of wisdom [is] a flowing brook.
5 Favoring of the face of the wicked [is] not good, To turn aside the righteous in judgment.
6 The lips of a fool enter into strife, And his mouth calls for stripes.
7 The mouth of a fool [is] ruin to him, And his lips [are] the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a tale-bearer [are] as self-inflicted wounds, And they have gone down [to] the inner parts of the heart.
9 He also that is remiss in his work, He [is] a brother to a destroyer.
10 The Name of YHWH [is] a tower of strength, The righteous runs into it, and is set on high.
11 The wealth of the rich [is] the city of his strength, And as a wall set on high in his own imagination.
12 The heart of man is high before destruction, And humility [is] before honor.
13 Whoever is answering a matter before he hears, It is folly to him—and shame.
14 The spirit of a man sustains his sickness, And who bears a struck spirit?
15 The heart of the intelligent gets knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 The gift of a man makes room for him, And it leads him before the great.
17 The first in his own cause [seems] righteous, [But] his neighbor comes and has searched him.
18 The lot causes contentions to cease, And it separates between the mighty.
19 A brother transgressed against is as a strong city, And contentions as the bar of a palace.
20 From the fruit of a man’s mouth is his belly satisfied, [From the] increase of his lips he is satisfied.
21 Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue, And those loving it eat its fruit.
22 [Whoever] has found a wife has found good, And brings out goodwill from YHWH.
23 The poor speaks [with] supplications, And the rich answers fierce things.
24 A man with friends—to show himself friendly, And there is a lover adhering more than a brother!
