Proverbs

²³It is as sport to a [self-confident] fool to do wickedness, but to have skillful and godly Wisdom is pleasure and relaxation to a man of understanding. ²⁴The thing a wicked man fears shall come upon him, but the desire of the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall be granted. ²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous have an everlasting foundation. [Ps. 125:1; Matt. 7:24-27.] ²⁶As vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who employ and send him. ²⁷The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord prolongs one's days, but the years of the wicked shall be made short. ²⁸The hope of the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright, in right standing with God) is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked (those who are out of harmony with God) comes to nothing. ²⁹The way of the Lord is strength and a stronghold to the upright, but it is destruction to the workers of iniquity.