This made the LORD angry, so he sent a prophet to Amaziah. The prophet demanded, "Why have you worshiped foreign gods that could not even save their own people from your power?"

"Since when," Amaziah interrupted, "have we made you adviser to the king? Stop talking, or I'll have you killed!" The prophet stopped, but not before saying, "Now I know that God has decided to destroy you because you have done all this and have ignored my advice."

Absalom and all the Israelites said, "Hushai's advice is better than Ahithophel's." The LORD had decided that Ahithophel's good advice would not be followed, so that disaster would come on Absalom.

You have ignored all my advice and have not been willing to let me correct you.

Anything you say to the wise will make them wiser. Whatever you tell the righteous will add to their knowledge.

If you listen to advice and are willing to learn, one day you will be wise.

A warning given by an experienced person to someone willing to listen is more valuable than gold rings or jewelry made of the finest gold.

It is natural for the wise to do the right thing and for fools to do the wrong thing.

Their stupidity will be evident even to strangers they meet along the way; they let everyone know that they are fools.

A country is in trouble when its king is a youth and its leaders feast all night long.

The LORD has spoken: "Those who rule Judah are doomed because they rebel against me. They follow plans that I did not make, and sign treaties against my will, piling one sin on another.