1. Lady Wisdom builds a lovely home;Sir Fool comes along and tears it down brick by brick.
2. An honest life shows respect for God;a degenerate life is a slap in his face.
3. Frivolous talk provokes a derisive smile;wise speech evokes nothing but respect.
4. No cattle, no crops;a good harvest requires a strong ox for the plow.
5. A true witness never lies;a false witness makes a business of it.
6. Cynics look high and low for wisdom—and never find it;the open-minded find it right on their doorstep!
7. Escape quickly from the company of fools;they’re a waste of your time, a waste of your words.
8. The wisdom of the wise keeps life on track;the foolishness of fools lands them in the ditch.
9. The stupid ridicule right and wrong,but a moral life is a favored life.
10. The person who shuns the bitter moments of friendswill be an outsider at their celebrations.
11. Lives of careless wrongdoing are tumbledown shacks;holy living builds soaring cathedrals.
12-13. There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough;look again—it leads straight to hell.Sure, those people appear to be having a good time,but all that laughter will end in heartbreak.
14. A mean person gets paid back in meanness,a gracious person in grace.