19 The lot puts an end to the disputes, and decides among the strong.

20 An embittered brother is more impregnable than a strong city, and quarrels are like the locks of a castle.

21 From the fruit of a man's mouth his belly is filled; by the work of his mouth he is satisfied.

22 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat of its fruit.

23 Whoever has found a [good] wife has found good, and has received grace from the Lord. [He who casts out a good wife casts out happiness, but he who keeps an adulteress is foolish and wicked.]

24 The beggar speaks supplicatingly, but the rich man answers rudely.

25 Whoever wants to have friends must also be friendly himself; and there is a friend who is more attached than a brother.

Chapter 19

1 Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity, than a man with a lying mouth, and a fool at that.

2 It is not good for the soul without knowledge, and he who hastens will stumble with his feet.

3 A man's foolishness perverteth his way, and his heart is angry with the Lord.

4 Wealth adds many friends, but the poor man is left to his friend also.

5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who tells a lie will not be saved.

6 Many ingratiate themselves with the noble, and every one is a friend of the man who gives gifts.

7 The poor man is hated by all his brethren, how much more do his friends depart from him: he pursues them to speak, but even this is not there.

8 He that gaineth understanding loveth his own soul; he who observes prudence finds good.

9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who tells a lie will perish.

10 It is unbecoming of a fool to be pompous, how much more to a servant to have dominion over princes.

11 Prudence makes a man slow to anger, and it is his glory to be lenient to transgressions.

12 The king's wrath is like the roar of a lion, and his favor is like dew on the grass.

13 A foolish son is a crush to his father, and a quarrelsome wife is a sewer.