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27:1  For the sake of profit many sin, and the struggle for wealth blinds the eyes.
27:2  A stake will be driven between fitted stones— sin will be wedged in between buying and selling.
27:3  Unless one holds fast to the fear of the Lord, with sudden swiftness will one’s house be thrown down.
27:4  When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do people’s faults when they speak.
27:5  The furnace tests the potter’s vessels; the test of a person is in conversation.
27:6  The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so speech discloses the bent of a person’s heart.
27:7  Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are tested.
27:8  If you strive after justice, you will attain it, and wear it like a splendid robe.
27:9  Birds nest with their own kind, and honesty comes to those who work at it.
27:10  A lion lies in wait for prey, so does sin for evildoers.
27:11  The conversation of the godly is always wisdom, but the fool changes like the moon.
27:12  Limit the time you spend among the stupid, but frequent the company of the thoughtful.
27:13  The conversation of fools is offensive, and their laughter is wanton sin.
27:14  Their oath-filled talk makes the hair stand on end, and their brawls make one stop the ears.
27:15  The wrangling of the proud ends in bloodshed, and their cursing is painful to hear.
27:16  Whoever betrays a secret destroys confidence, and will never find a congenial friend.
27:17  Cherish your friend, keep faith with him; but if you betray his secrets, do not go after him;
27:18  For as one might kill another, you have killed your neighbor’s friendship.
27:19  Like a bird released from your hand, you have let your friend go and cannot recapture him.
27:20  Do not go after him, for he is far away, and has escaped like a gazelle from a snare.
27:21  For a wound can be bandaged, and an insult forgiven, but whoever betrays secrets does hopeless damage.
27:22  Whoever has shifty eyes plots mischief and those who know him will keep their distance;
27:23  In your presence he uses honeyed talk, and admires your words, But later he changes his tone and twists the words to your ruin.
27:24  I have hated many things but not as much as him, and the Lord hates him as well.
27:25  A stone falls back on the head of the one who throws it high, and a treacherous blow causes many wounds.
27:26  Whoever digs a pit falls into it, and whoever lays a snare is caught in it.
27:27  The evil anyone does will recoil on him without knowing how it came upon him.
27:28  Mockery and abuse will befall the arrogant, and vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion.
27:29  Those who rejoice in the downfall of the godly will be caught in a snare, and pain will consume them before they die.
27:30  Wrath and anger, these also are abominations, yet a sinner holds on to them.