Proverbs

²²Do not say, I will repay evil; wait [expectantly] for the Lord, and He will rescue you. [II Sam. 16:12; Rom. 12:17-19; I Thess. 5:15; I Pet. 3:9.] ²³Diverse and deceitful weights are shamefully vile and abhorrent to the Lord, and false scales are not good. ²⁴Man's steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way? ²⁵It is a snare to a man to utter a vow [of consecration] rashly and [not until] afterward inquire [whether he can fulfill it]. ²⁶A wise king winnows out the wicked [from among the good] and brings the threshing wheel over them [to separate the chaff from the grain]. ²⁷The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts. [I Cor. 2:11.] ²⁸Loving-kindness and mercy, truth and faithfulness, preserve the king, and his throne is upheld by [the people's] loyalty.