1Many people have sinned while looking for a profit; if you want to be rich you have to keep blinders on your eyes. 2It is hard to remove a peg that is stuck between two stones of a house, and it is just as hard to remove dishonesty from buying and selling. 3Unless you are determined in your fear of the Lord, your house is going to come down on you.

Speech Reflects True Feelings

4Your talk shows your faults; it is like a sieve that separates out the rubbish. 5The way you think shows your character just as surely as a kiln shows any flaws in the pottery being fired. 6 You can tell how well a tree has been cared for by the fruit it bears, and you can tell a person's feelings by the way he expresses himself. 7Never praise anyone before you hear him talk; that is the real test.

Honesty

8If you try to be honest, you can be, and it will improve your character as handsome clothing improves your appearance. 9Birds come to roost with those of their own kind, and the habit of honesty comes to those who try to be honest. 10Sin waits for those looking for a chance to sin, just as a lion waits for prey.

Foolish Talk

11When devout people talk, what they say always makes sense, but foolish people are always contradicting themselves. 12When you find yourself with stupid people, look for some excuse to leave, but when you are with serious-minded people, stay as long as you can.

13The stories that foolish people tell are offensive, and they make jokes about the worst kinds of sin. 14When such people curse, it is enough to make your hair stand on end, and when they start arguing among themselves, all you can do is to stop up your ears. 15It is painful to listen to them insult each other, and such blustering can lead to violence.

Betraying Secrets

16 If you repeat secrets that have been told to you, you are destroying the confidence others have in you, and you will never have a close friend. 17Respect your friends, and keep faith with them. If you do betray a friend's confidence, you may as well forget you have a friend. 18You have killed that friendship just as surely as if you had taken a weapon and killed an enemy. 19Your friend is gone. You can no more get him back than you can get a bird to come back to your hand once you let it go. 20Don't bother going after him. It's too late. He is gone, like a deer escaped from a trap. 21Wounds can be bandaged and insults can be forgiven, but if you betray a confidence, it is hopeless.

Hypocrisy

22When someone starts winking at you, he has something bad in mind, and nothing can stop him from going through with it. 23When he's with you, his talk is so nice! He compliments you on every word you say. But behind your back it's a different story; he will take what you have said and turn it against you. 24There is nothing in the world that I hate as much as a person like that--and the Lord hates him too.

25Throw a stone straight up in the air and it will come down on your head. Strike a blow, and you yourself will be wounded. 26People who set traps fall into them themselves. 27People who hurt others will be hurt by their own actions and will have no idea why.

28Arrogant people insult others and make fun of them, but someone is waiting like a lion for a chance to take revenge on them. 29Those who are happy to witness the downfall of devout people are going to fall into a trap and die a painful death.

Resentment

30Anger and a hot temper are horrible things, but sinners have both.