Proverbs 21:16-30

¹⁶Anyone who wanders away from the path of understanding ends up with the dead.

¹⁷If you love pleasure you'll become poor; if you love wine and olive oil you won't ever be rich.

¹⁸The wicked pay the price and not the good; those who are deceitful and not those who live right.

¹⁹It's better to live in a desert than with an argumentative and bad-tempered wife.

²⁰The wise hold on to their wealth and olive oil, but stupid people use up everything they have.

²¹If you pursue goodness and trustworthy love, you'll find life, prosperity, and honor.

²²The wise can overcome a city belonging to strong warriors, and tear down the fortress they trusted to protect them.

²³If you watch what you say, you can save yourself a lot of trouble.

²⁴A proud, conceited, mocker—that's the name of those who act with insolent arrogance.

²⁵Slackers die hungry because they refuse to work.

²⁶Some people only want more and more all the time, but the good give generously.

²⁷The sacrifices given by the wicked are obnoxious, worse still when they're offered with evil motives.

²⁸The lies of a false witness vanish away, but the words of a reliable witness will stand.

²⁹The wicked act as bold as brass, but those who live right consider carefully what they're doing.

³⁰Whatever wisdom, understanding, or guidance you may have is nothing before the Lord.