Proverbs

²³A man has joy in making an apt answer, and a word spoken at the right moment–how good it is! ²⁴The path of the wise leads upward to life, that he may avoid [the gloom] in the depths of Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead). [Phil. 3:20; Col. 3:1, 2.] ²⁵The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but He makes secure the boundaries of the [consecrated] widow. ²⁶The thoughts of the wicked are shamefully vile and exceedingly offensive to the Lord, but the words of the pure are pleasing words to Him. ²⁷He who is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live. [Isa. 5:8; Jer. 17:11.] ²⁸The mind of the [uncompromisingly] righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. [I Pet. 3:15.] ²⁹The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous (the upright, in right standing with Him).