15. There is gold, and a multitude of pearls, but the lips of knowledge are a vase of preciousness [the most precious of all]. [Job 28:12, 16-19; Prov. 3:15; 8:11.]
16. [The judge tells the creditor] Take the garment of one who is security for a stranger; and hold him in pledge when he is security for foreigners.
17. Food gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18. Purposes and plans are established by counsel; and [only] with good advice make or carry on war.
19. He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; therefore associate not with him who talks too freely. [Rom. 16:17, 18.]
20. Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in complete darkness.
21. An inheritance hastily gotten [by greedy, unjust means] at the beginning, in the end it will not be blessed. [Prov. 28:20; Hab. 2:6.]
22. Do not say, I will repay evil; wait [expectantly] for the Lord, and He will rescue you. [II Sam. 16:12; Rom. 12:17-19; I Thess. 5:15; I Pet. 3:9.]
23. Diverse and deceitful weights are shamefully vile and abhorrent to the Lord, and false scales are not good.
24. Man's steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?
25. It is a snare to a man to utter a vow [of consecration] rashly and [not until] afterward inquire [whether he can fulfill it].
26. A wise king winnows out the wicked [from among the good] and brings the threshing wheel over them [to separate the chaff from the grain].