whose paths are morally crooked, and who are devious in their ways;

It has no commander, overseer, or ruler,

Do not move an ancient boundary stone which was put in place by your ancestors.

The words of King Lemuel, an oracle that his mother taught him:

For the Lord disciplines those he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.

A bribe works like a charm for the one who offers it; in whatever he does he succeeds.

The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water; he turns it wherever he wants.

When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you,

Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will pay him back according to what he has done.”

These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah copied:

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.

Like a city that is broken down and without a wall, so is a person who cannot control his temper.