¹Do not boast about tomorrow,

yfor you do not know what a day may bring.

²Let zanother praise you, and not your own mouth;

a stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,

but aa fool's provocation is heavier than both.

⁴Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,

but who can stand before bjealousy?

⁵cBetter is open rebuke

than hidden love.

⁶Faithful are dthe wounds of a friend;

profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

⁷One who is full loathes ehoney,

but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.

⁸Like fa bird that strays from its nest

is a man who strays from his home.

⁹gOil and perfume make the heart glad,

and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.1

¹⁰Do not forsake your friend and hyour father's friend,

and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity.

iBetter is a neighbor who is near

than a brother who is far away.

¹¹jBe wise, kmy son, and lmake my heart glad,

that I may manswer him who reproaches me.

¹²nThe prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but othe simple go on and suffer for it.

¹³pTake a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger,

and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.2

¹⁴Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,

rising early in the morning,

will be counted as cursing.

¹⁵qA continual dripping on a rainy day

and a quarrelsome wife are alike;

¹⁶to restrain her is to restrain the wind

or to grasp3 oil in one's right hand.

¹⁷Iron sharpens iron,

and one man sharpens another.4

¹⁸rWhoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

and he who sguards his master will be honored.

¹⁹As in water face reflects face,

so the heart of man reflects the man.

²⁰tSheol and Abaddon are unever satisfied,

and vnever satisfied are the eyes of man.

²¹wThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

and a man is tested by his praise.

²²xCrush a fool in a mortar with a pestle

along with crushed grain,

yet his folly will not depart from him.

²³yKnow well the condition of your flocks,

and ygive attention to your herds,

²⁴for zriches do not last forever;

and does a crown endure to all generations?

²⁵aWhen the grass is gone and the new growth appears

and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,

²⁶bthe lambs will provide your clothing,

and the goats the price of a field.

²⁷bThere will be enough goats' milk for your food,

for the food of your household

and maintenance for your girls.