⁴ An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
    and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.

²⁰ The crooked of mind do not prosper,
    and the perverse of tongue fall into calamity.^(A)

¹⁸ Like a maniac who shoots deadly firebrands and arrows,^(A)
19 so is one who deceives a neighbor
    and says, “I am only joking!”^(B)

²⁸ A lying tongue hates its victims,
    and a flattering mouth works ruin.^(A)