The Power of Words and the Nature of Companionship
Proverbs 18:1-24
1Desire seeks a person set apart in all wisdom, and that person quarrels.2A fool does not delight in understanding except in the laying bare of his heart.3When the wicked enters, contempt also enters, and dishonor comes together with reproach.4The words of a man's lips are deep waters, a bubbling torrent, a fountain of wisdom.5To lift the face of the wicked is not pleasant, nor to bend the righteous aside in justice.6The lips of a fool enter into strife, and his mouth summons blows.7The lip of a fool becomes terror to him, and his lips become a snare for his soul.8The words of a whisperer are like those who swallow; they descend into the inner chambers of the belly.9Moreover, one who grows slack in his work is a brother to a master of destruction.10The name of the LORD is a tower of strength; the righteous runs into it and is set on high.11The substance of a rich man is his town of strength, and like an exalted wall in his imagination.12Before ruin a man's heart exults, and before honor humility appears.13Whoever answers a matter before he hears it finds folly and shame for himself.14A man's spirit sustains his illness, but who can bear up a broken spirit?15The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.16A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.17The righteous is first in his strife; then his neighbor comes and searches him.18Casting the lot ends disputes and separates contenders even among the mighty.19A brother who rebels against a fortified town and its strife is like the bar of a palace.20From the fruit of a man's lips his belly is filled, and the produce of his lips fills him.21Death and life lie in the power of the tongue, and those who love it eat its fruit.22He who finds a wife obtains good and receives favor from the LORD.23The poor man utters supplications, but the rich man replies with harshness.24A man may have many companions for mutual harm, yet there exists a friend who clings more closely than a brother.