Proverbs

⁹It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop [on the flat oriental roof, exposed to all kinds of weather] than in a house shared with a nagging, quarrelsome, and faultfinding woman. ¹⁰The soul or life of the wicked craves and seeks evil; his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes. [James 2:16.] ¹¹When the scoffer is punished, the fool gets a lesson in being wise; but men of [godly] Wisdom and good sense learn by being instructed. 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.