1 | Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the future day may bring. |
2 | Let another praise you, and not your own mouth: an outsider, and not your own lips. |
3 | A stone is weighty, and sand is burdensome; but the wrath of the foolish is heavier than both. |
4 | Anger holds no mercy, nor does fury when it erupts. And who can bear the assault of one who has been provoked? |
5 | An open rebuke is better than hidden love. |
6 | The wounds of a loved one are better than the deceitful kisses of a hateful one. |
7 | A sated soul will trample the honeycomb. And a hungry soul will accept even bitter in place of sweet. |
8 | Just like a bird migrating from her nest, so also is a man who abandons his place. |
9 | Ointment and various perfumes delight the heart. And the good advice of a friend is sweet to the soul. |
10 | Do not dismiss your friend or your father's friend. And do not enter your brother's house in the day of your affliction. A close neighbor is better than a distant brother. |
11 | My son, study wisdom, and rejoice my heart, so that you may be able to respond to the one who reproaches. |
12 | The discerning man, seeing evil, hides himself. The little ones, continuing on, sustain losses. |
13 | Take away the garment of him who has vouched for an outsider. And take a pledge from him on behalf of foreigners. |
14 | Whoever blesses his neighbor with a grand voice, rising in the night, shall be like one who curses. |
15 | A roof leaking on a cold day, and an argumentative woman, are comparable. |
16 | He who would restrain her, he is like one who would grasp the wind, or who would gather together oil with his right hand. |
17 | Iron sharpens iron, and a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. |
18 | Whoever maintains the fig tree shall eat its fruit. And whoever is the keeper of his master shall be glorified. |
19 | In the manner of faces looking into shining water, so are the hearts of men made manifest to the prudent. |
20 | Hell and perdition are never filled; similarly the eyes of men are insatiable. |
21 | In the manner of silver being tested in the refinery, and gold in the furnace, so also is a man tested by the mouth of one who praises. The heart of the iniquitous inquires after evils, but the heart of the righteous inquires after knowledge. |
22 | Even if you were to crush the foolish with a mortar, as when a pestle strikes over pearled barley, his foolishness would not be taken from him. |
23 | Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your own flocks, |
24 | for you will not always hold this power. But a crown shall be awarded from generation to generation. |
25 | The meadows are open, and the green plants have appeared, and the hay has been collected from the mountains. |
26 | Lambs are for your clothing, and goats are for the price of a field. |
27 | Let the milk of goats be sufficient for your food, and for the necessities of your household, and for the provisions of your handmaids. |