² When good people run things, everyone is glad,
    but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans.

³ If you love wisdom, you’ll delight your parents,
    but you’ll destroy their trust if you run with prostitutes.

⁴ A leader of good judgment gives stability;
    an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste.

⁵ A flattering neighbor is up to no good;
    he’s probably planning to take advantage of you.

⁶ Evil people fall into their own traps;
    good people run the other way, glad to escape.

⁷ The good-hearted understand what it’s like to be poor;
    the hardhearted haven’t the faintest idea.

⁸ A gang of cynics can upset a whole city;
    a group of sages can calm everyone down.

⁹ A sage trying to work things out with a fool
    gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble.

¹⁰ Murderers hate honest people;
    moral folks encourage them.

¹¹ A fool lets it all hang out;
    a sage quietly mulls it over.

¹² When a leader listens to malicious gossip,
    all the workers get infected with evil.

¹³ The poor and their abusers have at least something in common:
    they can both see—their sight, God’s gift!

¹⁴ Leadership gains authority and respect
    when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.

¹⁵ Wise discipline imparts wisdom;
    spoiled adolescents embarrass their parents.

¹⁶ When degenerates take charge, crime runs wild,
    but the righteous will eventually observe their collapse.

¹⁷ Discipline your children; you’ll be glad you did—
    they’ll turn out delightful to live with.

¹⁸ If people can’t see what God is doing,
    they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals,
    they are most blessed.

¹⁹ It takes more than talk to keep workers in line;
    mere words go in one ear and out the other.

²⁰ Observe the people who always talk before they think—
    even simpletons are better off than they are.

²¹ If you let people treat you like a doormat,
    you’ll be quite forgotten in the end.

²² Angry people stir up a lot of discord;
    the intemperate stir up trouble.

²³ Pride lands you flat on your face;
    humility prepares you for honors.

²⁴ Befriend an outlaw
    and become an enemy to yourself.
When the victims cry out,
    you’ll be included in their curses
    if you’re a coward to their cause in court.

²⁵ The fear of human opinion disables;
    trusting in God protects you from that.

²⁶ Everyone tries to get help from the leader,
    but only God will give us justice.

²⁷ Good people can’t stand the sight of deliberate evil;
    the wicked can’t stand the sight of well-chosen goodness.