The speech ¹  of the righteous bears the fruit of wisdom, ²  but the one who speaks perversion ³  will be destroyed. ⁴ 

Speaking recklessly ¹  is like the thrusts of a sword, but the words ²  of the wise bring ³  healing. ⁴ 

Through patience ¹  a ruler can be persuaded, ²  and a soft tongue ³  can break a bone. ⁴ 

The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment ¹  and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.

I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, ¹  two hundred silver pieces, ²  and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”

young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, ¹  well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated ²  and having keen insight, ³  and who were capable ⁴  of entering the king’s royal service ⁵  – and to teach them the literature and language ⁶  of the Babylonians. ⁷