1 A lazy man is compared to a filthy stone,
And all shall hiss him to shame.
2 An idle man is compared to the filth of a dunghill:
Every man that picks it up shall shake off his hand.
3 An undisciplined man is the shame of his father that brought him forth;
And a daughter is brought forth to his loss.
4 A wise daughter brings an inheritance to her husband;
But she who lives dishonestly is her father’s heaviness.
5 She who is bold shames both her father and her husband,
And they shall both despise her.
6 An untimely word is music in mourning;
But blows and discipline by wisdom are never untimely.
7 Whoever teaches a fool is as one who glues a potsherd together,
And as he who wakes one from a sound sleep.
8 He who speaks a word to a fool speaks to one in a slumber;
When he has spoken a word, he shall say,
“What is this word?”
9 If children live decently, and have means,
They shall cover the lowliness of their parents.
10 But children, being haughty, through pride and lacking discipline,
Stain the nobility of their relatives.
11 Weep for the dead, for he has lost the light;
And weep for the fool, for he lacks understanding.
Make little weeping for the dead, for he is at rest:
But the life of the fool is worse than death.
12 Seven days men shall mourn for the dead;
But all the days of his life for a fool and a wicked man.
13 Do not speak much with a fool,
And do not go to he who has no understanding.
Beware of him, lest you have trouble,
And you shall never be defiled with his foolishness.
Depart from him, and you shall find rest,
And never be worried with madness.
14 What is heavier than lead?
And what is its name, but a fool?
15 Sand, and salt, and a mass of iron, is easier to bear,
Than a man without understanding.
16 As timber girded and bound together in a
building cannot be loosed with shaking;
So the heart that is established by wise counsel shall fear at no time.
17 A heart rested upon a thought of understanding,
Is as a lovely plastering on the wall of a gallery.
18 Fences put on a high place shall never stand against the wind;
So a fearful heart in the mind of a fool cannot stand against any fear.
19 He who pricks the eye makes tears fall;
And he who pricks the heart makes it show her knowledge.
20 Whoever throws a stone at the birds frightens them away;
And he who reproaches his friend breaks a friendship.
21 Though you draw a sword against your friend, yet do not despair;
For there may be a returning.
22 If you have opened your mouth against your friend,
Do not fear;
For there may be an atonement,
Except for reproach, or pride, or disclosing secrets, or a deadly wound;
For these matters every friend shall depart.
23 Be trustworthy to your neighbour in his poverty,
That you may rejoice in his prosperity.
Remain steadfast with him in the time of his distress,
That you may be heir with him in his inheritance;
For a poor position is not always to be despised;
Nor the wealthy, who are foolish to be held in admiration.
24 As the clouds and smoke of a furnace goes before the fire;
So reviling before blood.
25 I shall not be ashamed to defend a friend;
Nor shall I hide myself from him.
26 But if any evil comes upon me because of him,
Every one that hears it shall beware of him.
27 Who shall appoint a guard before my mouth,
And a seal of wisdom upon my lips,
So I do not suddenly fall by them,
And that my tongue does not destroy me?