²⁷ Worthless people dig up trouble;
    their lips are like a scorching fire.
²⁸ Destructive people produce conflict;
    gossips alienate close friends.
²⁹ Violent people entice their neighbors
    and walk them down a path that isn’t good.
³⁰ Those who wink their eye plot destruction;
    those who purse their lips plan evil.

⁴ An evildoer pays attention to guilty lips;
    a liar listens to a destructive tongue.

⁹ One who seeks love conceals an offense,
    but one who repeats it divides friends.

¹⁹ Those who love an offense love a quarrel;
    those who build a high doorway invite a collapse.
²⁰ Those with crooked hearts won’t prosper,
    and those with twisted tongues will fall into trouble.

²⁴ Wisdom is right in front of those with understanding,
    but the eyes of fools are off to the edges of the earth.

18 Unfriendly people look out for themselves;
    they bicker with sensible people.
² Fools find no pleasure in understanding,
    but only in expressing their opinion.

²³ The poor plead for help,
    but the wealthy answer harshly.

⁴ Riches increase one’s friends,
    but the poor lose their friends.

⁶ Many seek favor from rulers;
    everyone befriends a gift giver.

⁶ Many people will say that they are loyal,
    but who can find a reliable person?