7 There is one who pretends to be rich and yet has nothing;another pretends to be poor and yet possesses great wealth. 8 The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth,thus the poor person has never heard a threat. 9 The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked goes out. 10 With pride comes only contention,but wisdom is with the well-advised. 11 Wealth gained quickly will dwindle away, but the one who gathers it little by little will become rich.

15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain if we were to pray to him?’ 16 But their prosperity is not their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me! 17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked extinguished? How often does their misfortune come upon them? How often does God apportion pain to them in his anger? 18 How often are they like straw before the wind and like chaff swept away by a whirlwind? 19 You may say, ‘God stores up a man’s punishment for his children!’ Instead let him repay the man himself so that he may be humbled!