¹¹ Wise choices will watch over you.
    Understanding will keep you safe.

¹² Wisdom will save you from evil people,
    from those whose words are twisted.
¹³ These men turn from the right way
    to walk down dark paths.
¹⁴ They take pleasure in doing wrong,
    and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.
¹⁵ Their actions are crooked,
    and their ways are wrong.

¹⁶ Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman,
    from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.
¹⁷ She has abandoned her husband
    and ignores the covenant she made before God.
¹⁸ Entering her house leads to death;
    it is the road to the grave.^[a]
19 The man who visits her is doomed.
    He will never reach the paths of life.

²⁰ So follow the steps of the good,
    and stay on the paths of the righteous.
²¹ For only the godly will live in the land,
    and those with integrity will remain in it.
²² But the wicked will be removed from the land,
    and the treacherous will be uprooted.

³¹ Don’t envy violent people
    or copy their ways.
³² Such wicked people are detestable to the Lord,
    but he offers his friendship to the godly.

¹² What are worthless and wicked people like?
    They are constant liars,
¹³ signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,
    a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
¹⁴ Their perverted hearts plot evil,
    and they constantly stir up trouble.
¹⁵ But they will be destroyed suddenly,
    broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.

⁶ The godly are showered with blessings;
    the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.

¹¹ The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain;
    the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.

¹² Hatred stirs up quarrels,
    but love makes up for all offenses.

¹³ Wise words come from the lips of people with understanding,
    but those lacking sense will be beaten with a rod.

¹⁸ Hiding hatred makes you a liar;
    slandering others makes you a fool.

¹³ A gossip goes around telling secrets,
    but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

¹⁵ Fools think their own way is right,
    but the wise listen to others.

¹⁶ A fool is quick-tempered,
    but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

¹⁷ An honest witness tells the truth;
    a false witness tells lies.

¹⁸ Some people make cutting remarks,
    but the words of the wise bring healing.

¹⁶ Wise people think before they act;
    fools don’t—and even brag about their foolishness.