¹Better the poor whose way of life is blameless

than a fool whose lips are perverse.

²Desire without knowledge is not good –

how much more will hasty feet miss the way!

³A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,

yet their heart rages against the Lord.

⁴Wealth attracts many friends,

but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.

⁵A false witness will not go unpunished,

and whoever pours out lies will not go free.

⁶Many curry favour with a ruler,

and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.

⁷The poor are shunned by all their relatives –

how much more do their friends avoid them!

Though the poor pursue them with pleading,

they are nowhere to be found.

⁸The one who gets wisdom loves life;

the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.

⁹A false witness will not go unpunished,

and whoever pours out lies will perish.

¹⁰It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury –

how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

¹¹A person’s wisdom yields patience;

it is to one’s glory to overlook an offence.

¹²A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,

but his favour is like dew on the grass.

¹³A foolish child is a father’s ruin,

and a quarrelsome wife is like

the constant dripping of a leaky roof.

¹⁴Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,

but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

¹⁵Laziness brings on deep sleep,

and the shiftless go hungry.

¹⁶Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,

but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.

¹⁷Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,

and he will reward them for what they have done.

¹⁸Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;

do not be a willing party to their death.

¹⁹A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;

rescue them, and you will have to do it again.

²⁰Listen to advice and accept discipline,

and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

²¹Many are the plans in a person’s heart,

but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

²²What a person desires is unfailing love;

better to be poor than a liar.

²³The fear of the Lord leads to life;

then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

²⁴A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

²⁵Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;

rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.

²⁶Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother

is a child who brings shame and disgrace.

²⁷Stop listening to instruction, my son,

and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

²⁸A corrupt witness mocks at justice,

and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.

²⁹Penalties are prepared for mockers,

and beatings for the backs of fools.