Learn and Adjust
- If you fail to adjust after being rebuked, you'll end by falling into utter ruin and won't be able to repair it.
- Old themes are repeated: wicked rulers are bad, wise children are good for their parents, visiting with prostitutes is bad, and flattering neighbors is pretty bad too.
- Kings who exact too much from the people can ruin their countries, and fools and scoffers are still verboten.
- If the wise try to bring fools to the court of law, it leads to endless ridicule and ranting—so avoid doing this if you can.
- The wise know how to hold back their anger.
God Makes Jerks Too
- Rulers shouldn't listen to falsehoods, but should be fair to the poor.
- The poor and their oppressors have at least one thing in common: God has made them both live.
- If parents neglect their children and don't discipline them, they'll have grief.
- Not only law, but prophecy also helps people behave correctly.
- You can't discipline servants through words alone—people are too thick. Also, slaves who have been coddled won't come to a good end. (Hmm. Do these sayings seem a little dark to you?)
- People who are hasty in speaking are worse off than fools and have less hope.
- Trust in God rather than fearing other people—God ultimately gives justice, rather than kings.
- The righteous and the wicked both seem like abominations in each other's eyes.