¹Do not boast about tomorrow,

for you do not know what a day may bring.

²Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;

an outsider, and not your own lips.

³Stone is heavy and sand a burden,

but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

⁴Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,

but who can stand before jealousy?

⁵Better is open rebuke

than hidden love.

⁶Wounds from a friend can be trusted,

but an enemy multiplies kisses.

⁷One who is full loathes honey from the comb,

but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

⁸Like a bird that flees its nest

is anyone who flees from home.

⁹Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,

and the pleasantness of a friend

springs from their heartfelt advice.

¹⁰Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family,

and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you –

better a neighbour nearby than a relative far away.

¹¹Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;

then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.

¹²The prudent see danger and take refuge,

but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

¹³Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;

hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.

¹⁴If anyone loudly blesses their neighbour early in the morning,

it will be taken as a curse.

¹⁵A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping

of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;

¹⁶restraining her is like restraining the wind

or grasping oil with the hand.

¹⁷As iron sharpens iron,

so one person sharpens another.

¹⁸The one who guards a fig-tree will eat its fruit,

and whoever protects their master will be honoured.

¹⁹As water reflects the face,

so one’s life reflects the heart.

²⁰Death and Destruction are never satisfied,

and neither are human eyes.

²¹The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,

but people are tested by their praise.

²²Though you grind a fool in a mortar,

grinding them like grain with a pestle,

you will not remove their folly from them.

²³Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,

give careful attention to your herds;

²⁴for riches do not endure for ever,

and a crown is not secure for all generations.

²⁵When the hay is removed and new growth appears

and the grass from the hills is gathered in,

²⁶the lambs will provide you with clothing,

and the goats with the price of a field.

²⁷You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family

and to nourish your female servants.

¹In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water

that he channels towards all who please him.

²A person may think their own ways are right,

but the Lord weighs the heart.

³To do what is right and just

is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart –

the unploughed field of the wicked – produce sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent lead to profit

as surely as haste leads to poverty.

⁶A fortune made by a lying tongue

is a fleeting vapour and a deadly snare.

⁷The violence of the wicked will drag them away,

for they refuse to do what is right.

⁸The way of the guilty is devious,

but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

⁹Better to live on a corner of the roof

than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

¹⁰The wicked crave evil;

their neighbours get no mercy from them.

¹¹When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;

by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge.

¹²The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked

and brings the wicked to ruin.

¹³Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor

will also cry out and not be answered.

¹⁴A gift given in secret soothes anger,

and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.

¹⁵When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous

but terror to evildoers.

¹⁶Whoever strays from the path of prudence

comes to rest in the company of the dead.

¹⁷Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;

whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.

¹⁸The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,

and the unfaithful for the upright.

¹⁹Better to live in a desert

than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.

²⁰The wise store up choice food and olive oil,

but fools gulp theirs down.

²¹Whoever pursues righteousness and love

finds life, prosperity and honour.

²²One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty

and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³Those who guard their mouths and their tongues

keep themselves from calamity.

²⁴The proud and arrogant person – ‘Mocker’ is his name –

behaves with insolent fury.

²⁵The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,

because his hands refuse to work.

²⁶All day long he craves for more,

but the righteous give without sparing.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable –

how much more so when brought with evil intent!

²⁸A false witness will perish,

but a careful listener will testify successfully.

²⁹The wicked put up a bold front,

but the upright give thought to their ways.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan

that can succeed against the Lord.

³¹The horse is made ready for the day of battle,

but victory rests with the Lord.

¹Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;

whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

²A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion;

those who anger him forfeit their lives.

³It is to one’s honour to avoid strife,

but every fool is quick to quarrel.

⁴Sluggards do not plough in season;

so at harvest time they look but find nothing.

⁵The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters,

but one who has insight draws them out.

⁶Many claim to have unfailing love,

but a faithful person who can find?

⁷The righteous lead blameless lives;

blessed are their children after them.

⁸When a king sits on his throne to judge,

he winnows out all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure;

I am clean and without sin’?

¹⁰Differing weights and differing measures –

the Lord detests them both.

¹¹Even small children are known by their actions,

so is their conduct really pure and upright?

¹²Ears that hear and eyes that see –

the Lord has made them both.

¹³Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;

stay awake and you will have food to spare.

¹⁴‘It’s no good, it’s no good!’ says the buyer –

then goes off and boasts about the purchase.

¹⁵Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,

but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.

¹⁶Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;

hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.

¹⁷Food gained by fraud tastes sweet,

but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.

¹⁸Plans are established by seeking advice;

so if you wage war, obtain guidance.

¹⁹A gossip betrays a confidence;

so avoid anyone who talks too much.

²⁰If someone curses their father or mother,

their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.

²¹An inheritance claimed too soon

will not be blessed at the end.

²²Do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back for this wrong!’

Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.

²³The Lord detests differing weights,

and dishonest scales do not please him.

²⁴A person’s steps are directed by the Lord.

How then can anyone understand their own way?

²⁵It is a trap to dedicate something rashly

and only later to consider one’s vows.

²⁶A wise king winnows out the wicked;

he drives the threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord

that sheds light on one’s inmost being.

²⁸Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;

through love his throne is made secure.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength,

grey hair the splendour of the old.

³⁰Blows and wounds scrub away evil,

and beatings purge the inmost being.

¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but whoever hates correction is stupid.

²Good people obtain favour from the Lord,

but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.

³No-one can be established through wickedness,

but the righteous cannot be uprooted.

⁴A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,

but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.

⁵The plans of the righteous are just,

but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,

but the speech of the upright rescues them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more,

but the house of the righteous stands firm.

⁸A person is praised according to their prudence,

and one with a warped mind is despised.

⁹Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant

than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

¹⁰The righteous care for the needs of their animals,

but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹Those who work their land will have abundant food,

but those who chase fantasies have no sense.

¹²The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,

but the root of the righteous endures.

¹³Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,

and so the innocent escape trouble.

¹⁴From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,

and the work of their hands brings them reward.

¹⁵The way of fools seems right to them,

but the wise listen to advice.

¹⁶Fools show their annoyance at once,

but the prudent overlook an insult.

¹⁷An honest witness tells the truth,

but a false witness tells lies.

¹⁸The words of the reckless pierce like swords,

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips endure for ever,

but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,

but those who promote peace have joy.

²¹No harm overtakes the righteous,

but the wicked have their fill of trouble.

²²The Lord detests lying lips,

but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

²³The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,

but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.

²⁴Diligent hands will rule,

but laziness ends in forced labour.

²⁵Anxiety weighs down the heart,

but a kind word cheers it up.

²⁶The righteous choose their friends carefully,

but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷The lazy do not roast any game,

but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.

²⁸In the way of righteousness there is life;

along that path is immortality.