4 None of you can completely eliminate meanness, but clear thinking can fight alongside you so that you don’t have to give in to your cruel tendencies.
5 Clear thinking does not uproot the emotions, but it is their opponent.
6 This can be shown more clearly by the story of when King David was thirsty.
7 David had been attacking the enemy all day long, and he had killed many of them with the help of his nation’s soldiers.
8 When it was evening, he returned to his royal tent, dripping with sweat and completely exhausted. The whole army of our ancestors was camped around it,
9 and all the others were eating dinner.
10 However, the king was extremely thirsty. Even though there were plenty of water springs in the camp, he couldn’t quench his thirst with them.