Psychological and Spiritual Assessment of Ryan Blackmore

"Don’t make friends with an angry man*, and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare" ([Prov. 22.24,25).

* HSCB margin: with a master of anger.

"It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory. A man who does not control his temper is like a city whose wall is broken down" (Prov. 25.27,28).

"Fury is cruel, and anger a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?" (Prov. 27.4)

"He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination" (Prov. 28.9).

"Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery" (Prov. 29.1).

"When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful" (Prov. 29.18).

"An angry man * stirreth up strife, And a wrathful man aboundeth in transgression" (Prov. 29.22).

* A master of anger.

"A slave cannot be disciplined by words; though he understands, he doesn’t respond" (Prov. 29.19).

"A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools" (Prov. 26.3).

"Don't answer a fool according to his foolishness, or you'll be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his foolishness, or he'll become wise in his own eyes" (Prov. 26.3.4). Some people refuse to respond to gentle means of discipline, and as 27.22 makes clear, some refuse to respond to even the harshest discipline.

"You cannot separate fools from their foolishness, even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle" (27.22).

"It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute, but any fool can get himself into a quarrel" (Prov. 20.3).

"The one who will not use the rod hates his son" (Prov. 13.24).

"One who rebukes a person will later find more favor than one who flatters with his [smooth] tongue" (Prov. 28.23).

"When he speaks graciously don't believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart. Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his evil will be revealed in the assembly. The one who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone-it will come back on him" (Prov. 26.25-27).

"If you have been foolish by exalting yourself, or if you've been scheming, put your hand over your mouth. For the churning of milk produces butter, and twisting a nose draws blood, and stirring up anger produces strife" (Prov. 30.32,33).