1People sin

when they try to get rich,

and they convince themselves

they are not being dishonest.

2But sin is stuck tightly

between buying and selling,

just like a wooden peg

hammered between two stones

in a wall.

3And if you disobey the Lord,

your home

will soon be destroyed.

4Impurities can easily be seen

after flour is sifted

and after someone speaks.

5The quality of a clay dish

is seen in the heat

of the pottery furnace,

just as our true character

is seen in what we say.

6 Fruit shows how much care

a tree has received,

and our words show the care

we have given to our minds.

7So don't start praising people,

until you hear what they say.

8Make fairness your goal;

you will reach it

and receive great honor.

9Just as birds of the same kind

come together in a flock,

people will be honest with you,

if you are honest with them.

10But sin is watching like a lion

and is ready to gobble you up

if you do evil.

11Good people always speak wisely,

but you never can tell

what a fool will say next.

12Don't waste your time

listening to stupid people;

spend it with those

who know how to think.

13It is disgusting to listen to fools

laughing about their sins.

* 14Their cursing and arguing

makes your hair stand on end

and your ears ache.

15But fools are too proud

to stop sinning,

until someone gets hurt.

16 Your friends won't trust you

or like you anymore

if you can't keep a secret.

17If you don't tell their secrets,

your friends will know

that you really like them.

But if you tell their secrets,

they won't want you around,

18and your friendship is as dead

as a soldier

killed by the enemy.

19It is gone for good,

like a captive bird

that has been set free

20or a deer that has escaped

from a trap.

So don't bother trying

to get back that friendship.

21Wounds can be bandaged

and insults forgiven,

but nothing can heal the harm

of telling someone's secret.

22Stay away from those who wink

and plan to deceive others.

23They tell you how great you are

and how well you speak,

but later, they twist your words

to make you look bad.

24I hate people like them

more than anything else,

and even the Lord hates them.

25Striking a friend is the same

as throwing a stone

straight up in the air--

you will be the one

who gets hurt.

26And you will get caught

in traps that you set

to cheat others.

27No one seems to realize

that evil always returns

to the one who does it.

28Proud people insult others,

but revenge will follow them

like a lion stalking a victim.

29When God's people

are in trouble,

those who make fun of them

will die in terrible pain,

like an animal in a trap.

Anger, Revenge, and Forgiveness

30Taking revenge in anger

is disgusting--yet sinners

just won't give it up.