23 They make a lot of sense, these wise folks;whenever they speak, their reputation increases.
24 Gracious speech is like clover honey—good taste to the soul, quick energy for the body.
25 There’s a way that looks harmless enough;look again—it leads straight to hell.
26 Appetite is an incentive to work;hunger makes you work all the harder.
27 Mean people spread mean gossip;their words smart and burn.
28 Troublemakers start fights;gossips break up friendships.
29 Calloused climbers betray their very own friends;they’d stab their own grandmothers in the back.