Proverbs

¹⁶Whoever attempts to restrain [a contentious woman] might as well try to stop the wind–his right hand encounters oil [and she slips through his fingers]. ¹⁷Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend [to show rage or worthy purpose]. ¹⁸Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit; so he who patiently and faithfully guards and heeds his master shall be honored. [I Cor. 9:7, 13.] ¹⁹As in water face answers to and reflects face, so the heart of man to man. ²⁰Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the place of destruction) are never satisfied; so [the lust of] the eyes of man is never satisfied. [Prov. 30:16; Hab. 2:5.] ²¹As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold [bring forth all the impurities of the metal], so let a man be in his trial of praise [ridding himself of all that is base or insincere; for a man is judged by what he praises and of what he boasts]. ²²Even though like grain you should pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.