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¹⁴ The beginning of strife is like letting out water;
   so stop before the quarrel breaks out.
¹⁵ One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous
   are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹⁶ Why should fools have a price in hand
   to buy wisdom, when they have no mind to learn?
¹⁷ A friend loves at all times,
   and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.
¹⁸ It is senseless to give a pledge,
   to become surety for a neighbour.
¹⁹ One who loves transgression loves strife;
   one who builds a high threshold invites broken bones.
²⁰ The crooked of mind do not prosper,
   and the perverse of tongue fall into calamity.
²¹ The one who begets a fool gets trouble;
   the parent of a fool has no joy.
²² A cheerful heart is a good medicine,
   but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.
²³ The wicked accept a concealed bribe
   to pervert the ways of justice.
²⁴ The discerning person looks to wisdom,
   but the eyes of a fool to the ends of the earth.
²⁵ Foolish children are a grief to their father
   and bitterness to her who bore them.
²⁶ To impose a fine on the innocent is not right,
   or to flog the noble for their integrity.
²⁷ One who spares words is knowledgeable;
   one who is cool in spirit has understanding.
²⁸ Even fools who keep silent are considered wise;
   when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent.