PROVERBS CHAPTER 18.
V. 18. The lot, as used by the Jews according to law, causeth contentions to cease, for the Lord Himself guided the result, and parteth between the mighty, deciding the matter between them and thus preventing bloody quarrels.
V. 19. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, or if he has been estranged by some deliberate offense, by a breach of faith, he will look upon every attempt at adjustment with suspicion; and their contentions are like the bars of a castle, quarrels between former friends are the most stubborn obstructions to a reconciliation.
V. 20. A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth, his whole body will have to bear the consequences of his speeches; and with the increase of his ups shall he be filled, it will come back to him as it has gone forth from his mouth.
V. 21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, that is, the one or the other will be the fate of man, in agreement with the manner in which he used his tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof, experiencing in themselves the effects of its good use and of its abuse.