1
Do not boast about tomorrow,
y for you do not know what a day may bring.
2
Let z another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
3
A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but a a fool's provocation is heavier than both.
4
Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before b jealousy?
5
c Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6
Faithful are d the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
7
One who is full loathes e honey,
but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
8
Like f a bird that strays from its nest
is a man who strays from his home.
9
g Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. 1
10
Do not forsake your friend and h your father's friend,
and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity.
i Better is a neighbor who is near
than a brother who is far away.
11
j Be wise, k my son, and l make my heart glad,
that I may m answer him who reproaches me.
12
n The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but o the simple go on and suffer for it.
13
p Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress. 2
14
Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
15
q A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
16
to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp 3 oil in one's right hand.
17
Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another. 4
18
r Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who s guards his master will be honored.
19
As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.
20
t Sheol and Abaddon are u never satisfied,
and v never satisfied are the eyes of man.
21
w The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
22
x Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
23
y Know well the condition of your flocks,
and y give attention to your herds,
24
for z riches do not last forever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
25
a When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
26
b the lambs will provide your clothing,
and the goats the price of a field.
27
b There will be enough goats' milk for your food,
for the food of your household
and maintenance for your girls.