²⁶ The righteous should choose his friends carefully,
For the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁰ He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

^17 (A)A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.

²⁴ A man who has friends ^[a]must himself be friendly,
^(A)But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

¹⁶ Have you found honey?
Eat only as much as you need,
Lest you be filled with it and vomit.

¹⁷ Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house,
Lest he become weary of you and hate you.

⁸ Like a bird that wanders from its nest
Is a man who wanders from his place.

⁹ Ointment and perfume delight the heart,
And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by ^[a]hearty counsel.

¹⁰ Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,
Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;
^(A)Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

²⁴ Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life;
^(A)He ^[a]swears to tell the truth, but reveals nothing.