Proverbs

¹²The [uncompromisingly] righteous man considers well the house of the wicked–how the wicked are cast down to ruin. ¹³Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor will cry out himself and not be heard. [Matt. 18:30-34; James 2:13.] ¹⁴A gift in secret pacifies and turns away anger, and a bribe in the lap, strong wrath. ¹⁵When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous (the upright, in right standing with God), but to the evildoers it is dismay, calamity, and ruin. ¹⁶A man who wanders out of the way of understanding shall abide in the congregation of the spirits (of the dead). ¹⁷He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich. ¹⁸The wicked become a ransom for the [uncompromisingly] righteous, and the treacherous for the upright [because the wicked themselves fall into the traps and pits they have dug for the good].