¹¹ 
Discretion will watch over you,
Understanding and discernment will guard you,
¹² 
To keep you from the way of evil and the evil man,
From the man who speaks perverse things;
¹³ 
From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
¹⁴ 
Who find joy in doing evil
And delight in the perversity of evil,
¹⁵ 
Whose paths are crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
¹⁶ 
To keep you from the immoral woman;
From the seductress with her flattering words,^(A)
17 
Who leaves the companion (husband) of her youth,
And forgets the covenant of her God.
¹⁸ 
For her house leads down to death
And her paths lead to the dead;
¹⁹ 
None who go to her return again,
Nor do they regain the paths of life—
²⁰ 
So you will walk in the way of good men [that is, those of personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character],
And keep to the paths of the righteous.
²¹ 
For the upright [those who are in right standing with God] will live in the land
And those [of integrity] who are blameless [in God’s sight] will remain in it;
²² 
But the wicked will be cut off from the land
And the treacherous shall be [forcibly] uprooted and removed from it.

¹³ 
He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets,
But he who is trustworthy and faithful keeps a matter hidden.

¹⁵ 
The way of the [arrogant] fool [who rejects God’s wisdom] is right in his own eyes,
But a wise and prudent man is he who listens to counsel.^(A)
16 
The [arrogant] fool’s anger is quickly known [because he lacks self-control and common sense],
But a prudent man ignores an insult.
¹⁷ 
He who speaks truth [when he testifies] tells what is right,
But a false witness utters deceit [in court].
¹⁸ 
There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁶ 
Every prudent and self-disciplined man acts with knowledge,
But a [closed-minded] fool [who refuses to learn] displays his foolishness [for all to see].