1 Better to be poor and live one’s life uprightly
than engage in crooked speech, for such a one is a fool.
2 To act without knowing how you function is not good;
and if you rush ahead, you will miss your goal.
3 A person’s own folly is what ruins his way,
but he rages in his heart againstAdonai.
4 Wealth brings in many friends,
but the poor man loses the one friend he has.
5 A false witness will not go unpunished;
whoever breathes out lies will not escape.
6 Many ask favors of a generous person —
to a giver of gifts, everyone is a friend.
7 A poor man’s relatives all hate him;
even more his friends stay away from him.
He may pursue them with entreaties,
but they aren’t there to be found.
8 To acquire good sense is to love oneself;
to treasure discernment is to prosper.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished;
whoever breathes out lies will perish.
10 It isn’t fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
and even less for a slave to govern princes.
11 People with good sense are slow to anger,
and it is their glory to overlook an offense.
12 A king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13 A son who is a fool is his father’s ruin,
and a nagging wife is like a leak that keeps dripping.
14 A house and wealth are inherited from ancestors,
but a sensible wife is fromAdonai.
15 Laziness makes people fall asleep,
and an idle person will go hungry.
16 He who keeps amitzvahkeeps himself safe,
but he who doesn’t care how he lives will die.
17 He who is kind to the poor is lending toAdonai;
and he will repay him for his good deed.
18 Discipline your child while there is hope,
but don’t get so angry that you kill him!
19 A violent-tempered person will be punished;
if you try to save him from it, you make things worse.
20 Listen to advice, and accept discipline,
so that in the end you will be wise.
21 One can devise many plans in one’s mind,
butAdonai’s plan will prevail.
22 A man’s lust is his shame,
and a poor man is better than a liar.
23 The fear ofAdonaileads to life;
one who has it is satisfied and rests untouched by evil.
24 The lazy person buries his hand in the dish
but doesn’t even bother to bring it to his mouth.
25 If you strike a scorner,
the simple will learn to act wisely;
if you reprove the intelligent,
he will understand what you mean.
26 One who mistreats his father and evicts his mother
is a son who brings them shame and disgrace.
27 My son, if you stop heeding discipline,
you will stray from the principles of knowledge.
28 A worthless witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked swallows wrongdoing.
29 Judgments are in store for scorners
and blows for the backs of fools.