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21:1  My child, if you have sinned, do so no more, and for your past sins pray to be forgiven.
21:2  Flee from sin as from a serpent that will bite you if you go near it; Its teeth, lion’s teeth, destroying human lives.
21:3  All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword; when it cuts, there is no healing.
21:4  Panic and pride wipe out wealth; so too the house of the proud is uprooted.
21:5  Prayer from the lips of the poor is heard at once, and justice is quickly granted them.
21:6  Whoever hates correction walks the sinner’s path, but whoever fears the Lord repents in his heart.
21:7  Glib speakers are widely known, but when they slip the sensible perceive it.
21:8  Those who build their houses with someone else’s money are like those who collect stones for their funeral mounds.
21:9  A band of criminals is like a bundle of tow; they will end in a flaming fire.
21:10  The path of sinners is smooth stones, but its end is the pit of Sheol.
21:11  Those who keep the Law control their thoughts; perfect fear of the Lord is wisdom.
21:12  One who is not clever can never be taught, but there is a cleverness filled with bitterness.
21:13  The knowledge of the wise wells up like a flood, and their counsel like a living spring.
21:14  A fool’s mind is like a broken jar: it cannot hold any knowledge at all.
21:15  When the intelligent hear a wise saying, they praise it and add to it. The wanton hear it with distaste and cast it behind their back.
21:16  A fool’s chatter is like a load on a journey, but delight is to be found on the lips of the intelligent.
21:17  The views of the prudent are sought in an assembly, and their words are taken to heart.
21:18  Like a house in ruins is wisdom to a fool; to the stupid, knowledge is incomprehensible chatter.
21:19  To the senseless, education is fetters on the feet, like manacles on the right hand.
21:20  Fools raise their voice in laughter, but the prudent at most smile quietly.
21:21  Like a gold ornament is education to the wise, like a bracelet on the right arm.
21:22  A fool steps boldly into a house, while the well-bred are slow to make an entrance.
21:23  A boor peeps through the doorway of a house, but the educated stay outside.
21:24  It is rude for one to listen at a door; the discreet person would be overwhelmed by the disgrace.
21:25  The lips of the arrogant talk of what is not their concern, but the discreet carefully weigh their words.
21:26  The mind of fools is in their mouths, but the mouth of the wise is in their mind.
21:27  When the godless curse their adversary, they really curse themselves.
21:28  Slanderers sully themselves, and are hated by their neighbors.