Proverbs 23:1-3, 6-9

1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, 

         observe carefully what is before you,

2 and put a knife to your throat 

         if you are given to appetite.

3 Do not desire his delicacies, 

         for they are deceptive food. 

6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; 

         do not desire his delicacies,

7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. 

         “Eat and drink!” he says to you, 

         but his heart is not with you.

8  You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, 

         and waste your pleasant words.

9  Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, 

         for he will despise the good sense of your words.

Pursue Discretion and Discernment

*11:22 Like a gold ring in a pig's snout 

     is a beautiful woman without discretion.

18:13 If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.

Proverbs 25:7b-10

What your eyes have seen 

     do not hastily bring into court, 

for what will you do in the end, 

     when your neighbor puts you to shame?

Argue your case with your neighbor himself, 

     and do not reveal another's secret,

lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, 

     and your ill repute have no end.

25:15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded, 

     and a soft tongue will break a bone.

25:17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, 

     lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

25:20 Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart 

     is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, 

     and like vinegar on soda.

27:14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, 

     rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.

Answering (or not Answering) the Fool with His Folly

13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, 

     but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

14:7 Leave the presence of a fool, 

     for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

17:12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs 

     rather than a fool in his folly.

26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

Proverbs 26:4-6

4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, 

        lest you be like him yourself.

5 Answer a fool according to his folly, 

        lest he be wise in his own eyes.

6 Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool 

        cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

26:8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling 

     is one who gives honor to a fool.

26:10 Like an archer who wounds everyone 

     is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.

29:9 If a wise man has an argument with a fool, 

     the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.