6 Do not honor yourself before the king, and do not stand in the place of great men; 7 for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,” than to put you lower before a prince,whom your eyes have seen. 8 Do not go out hastily to litigation, or what will you do afterward when your neighbor puts you to shame? 9 When you argue a case with your neighbor, do not reveal the secret of another person, 10 lest the one who hears it put you to shame and your infamy will never go away. 11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver, so is a word skillfully spoken.

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector. 18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.