17 Don't get mixed up in someone else's fight as you are passing by. That's like picking a dog up by its ears.
18 Suppose a crazy person shoots flaming arrows that can kill.
19 A man who lies to his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!" is just like that person.
20 If you don't have wood, your fire goes out. If you don't talk about others, arguing dies down.
21 Coal glows. Wood burns. And a man who argues stirs up fights.
22 The words of anyone who talks about others are like tasty bites of food. They go deep down inside you.
23 Warm words that come from an evil heart are like shiny paint on a clay pot.