²⁸ 
Loyalty and mercy, truth and faithfulness, protect the king,
And he upholds his throne by lovingkindness.

⁸ 
The way of the guilty is [exceedingly] crooked,
But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

²⁹ 
A wicked man puts on a bold face,
But as for the upright, he considers, directs, and establishes his way [with the confidence of integrity].

¹⁰ 
Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go away;
Even strife and dishonor will cease.
¹¹ 
He who loves purity of heart
And whose speech is gracious will have the king as his friend.

23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is [set] before you;
² 
For you will put a knife to your throat
If you are a man of great appetite.
³ 
Do not desire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food [offered to you with questionable motives].

⁶ 
He who sends a message by the hand of a fool
Cuts off his own feet (sabotages himself) and drinks the violence [it brings on himself as a consequence].^(A)

¹⁰ 
Like a [careless] archer who [shoots arrows wildly and] wounds everyone,
So is he who hires a fool or those who [by chance just] pass by.

²⁴ 
He who hates, disguises it with his lips,
But he stores up deceit in his heart.
²⁵ 
When he speaks graciously and kindly [to conceal his malice], do not trust him,
For seven abominations are in his heart.
²⁶ 
Though his hatred covers itself with guile and deceit,
His malevolence will be revealed openly before the assembly.
²⁷ 
Whoever digs a pit [for another man’s feet] will fall into it,
And he who rolls a stone [up a hill to do mischief], it will come back on him.^(A)
28 
A lying tongue hates those it wounds and crushes,
And a flattering mouth works ruin.