Context Reading
16The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly. 17Like one who grabs a dog by the ears is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own. 18Like a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows, 19so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!” 20Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.