WISDOM 40

1 Great hardship is created for every man,
And a heavy yoke is upon the sons of Aḏam;
From the day that they go out of their mother’s womb,
Till the day that they return to the mother of all.

2 Their imagination of what is to come, and the day of death,
Are their thoughts, and fear of heart;

3 From he who sits on a throne of esteem,
To he who is humbled in dirt and ashes;

4 From he who wears purple and a crown,
To he who is clothed with a linen robe.

5 Wrath, and envy, trouble, and unrest, fear of death, and displeasure, and strife,
And in the time of rest on his bed his sleep at night changes his knowledge.

6 He gets little or no rest, and after his sleep, is as in a day of watching,
Troubled in the vision of his mind, as if he had escaped out of a battle.

7 When all is safe, he wakes,
And marvels that the fear was naught.

8 These come to all flesh, both man and beast,
And seven times more upon sinners.

9 Death, and bloodshed, strife, and sword,
Calamities, scarcity of food, distress, and the scourge;

10 These are created for the wicked,
And the flood came for their sakes.

11 All that are of the earth shall return to the earth again;
And that which is of the waters returns to the sea.

12 All bribery and unrighteousness shall be blotted out;
But right-dealing endures forever.

13 The goods of the unrighteous shall be dried up like a wadi,
And shall vanish with noise, like great thunder in rain.

14 While the generous shall rejoice;
So transgressors shall come to naught.

15 The children of the wicked shall not bring forth many branches;
But are as unclean roots on a hard rock.

16 The weed growing on all water and riverbank,
Shall be pulled up before any grass.

17 Kindness is like a most fruitful garden,
And favour endures forever.

18 To labour, and to be content with what a man has, is a sweet life;
But he who finds a treasure is above them both.

19 Children and the building of a city continue a man’s name;
But a blameless wife is counted above them both.

20 Wine and music rejoice the heart;
But the love of wisdom is above them both.

21 The flute and the harp make a sweet melody;
But a pleasant tongue is above them both.

22 Your eye desires favour and loveliness;
But more than both is grain while green.

23 A friend and companion never meet wrongfully;
But above both is a wife with her husband.

24 Brothers are a help for time of trouble;
But kind deeds shall deliver more than them both.

25 Gold and silver make a solid footing;
But counsel is esteemed above them both.

26 Wealth and power lift the heart;
But the reverence of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 is above them both.
There is no lack with the reverence of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄,
And with it you need not seek help.

27 The reverence of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 is a fruitful garden,
And covers him above all esteem.

28 My son, do not lead a beggar’s life;
For better it is to die than to beg.

29 The life of he who depends on another man’s table,
Cannot be considered a life;
For he pollutes himself with the food of other men;
But a wise, disciplined man guards himself from it.

30 Begging is sweet in the mouth of the shameless;
But in his inward parts a fire burns.