20  The tongue of the righteous is ^gchoice silver;

the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

21  The lips of the righteous feed many,

but fools die for ^hlack of sense.

31  ^xThe mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,

but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

32  The lips of the righteous ^yknow what is acceptable,

but the mouth of the wicked, ^zwhat is perverse.

11  By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,

but ^oby the mouth of the wicked ^pit is overthrown.

13  An evil man is ensnared ^uby the transgression of his lips,¹

^vbut the righteous escapes from trouble.

14  From the fruit of his mouth ^wa man is satisfied with good,

^xand the work of a man’s hand comes back to him.

2  From the fruit of his mouth a man ^reats what is good,

but the desire of the treacherous ^sis for violence.

28  The heart of the righteous ^yponders how to answer,

but ^zthe mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

4  An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.