1: GOD hates cheating in the marketplace; he loves it when business is aboveboard.
2: The stuck-up fall flat on their faces, but down-to-earth people stand firm.
3: The integrity of the honest keeps them on track; the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin.
4: A thick bankroll is no help when life falls apart, but a principled life can stand up to the worst.
5: Moral character makes for smooth traveling; an evil life is a hard life.
6: Good character is the best insurance; crooks get trapped in their sinful lust.
7: When the wicked die, that's it--the story's over, end of hope.
8: A good person is saved from much trouble; a bad person runs straight into it.
9: The loose tongue of the godless spreads destruction; the common sense of the godly preserves them.
10: When it goes well for good people, the whole town cheers; when it goes badly for bad people, the town celebrates.
11: When right-living people bless the city, it flourishes; evil talk turns it into a ghost town in no time.
12: Mean-spirited slander is heartless; quiet discretion accompanies good sense.
13: A gadabout gossip can't be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won't violate a confidence.
14: Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.
15: Whoever makes deals with strangers is sure to get burned; if you keep a cool head, you'll avoid rash bargains.
16: A woman of gentle grace gets respect, but men of rough violence grab for loot.
17: When you're kind to others, you help yourself; when you're cruel to others, you hurt yourself.
18: Bad work gets paid with a bad check; good work gets solid pay.
19: Take your stand with God's loyal community and live, or chase after phantoms of evil and die.
20: GOD can't stand deceivers, but oh how he relishes integrity.
21: Count on this: The wicked won't get off scot-free, and God's loyal people will triumph.
22: Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful face on an empty head.
23: The desires of good people lead straight to the best, but wicked ambition ends in angry frustration.
24: The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
25: The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.
26: Curses on those who drive a hard bargain! Blessings on all who play fair and square!
27: The one who seeks good finds delight; the student of evil becomes evil.
28: A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.
29: Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air; common sense tells you it's a stupid way to live.
30: A good life is a fruit--bearing tree; a violent life destroys souls.
31: If good people barely make it, what's in store for the bad!