1Boast not thyself of to-morrow;

For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

2Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth;

A stranger, and not thine own lips.

3A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty;

But a fool’s vexation is heavier than they both.

4Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming;

But who is able to stand before jealousy?

5Better is open rebuke

Than love that is hidden.

6Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

But the kisses of an enemy are importunate.

7The full soul loatheth a honeycomb;

But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

8As a bird that wandereth from her nest,

So is a man that wandereth from his place.

9Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart;

So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.

10Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not;

Neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity;

Better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

11My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,

That I may answer him that taunteth me.

12A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself;

But the thoughtless pass on, and are punished.

13Take his garment that is surety for a stranger;

And hold him in pledge that is surety for an alien woman.

14He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,

It shall be counted a curse to him.

15A continual dropping in a very rainy day

And a contentious woman are alike;

16He that would hide her hideth the wind,

And the ointment of his right hand betrayeth itself.

17Iron sharpeneth iron;

So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

18Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof;

And he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

19As in water face answereth to face,

So the heart of man to man.

20The nether-world and Destruction are never satiated;

So the eyes of man are never satiated.

21The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold,

And a man is tried by his praise.

22Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle among groats,

Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

23Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,

And look well to thy herds;

24For riches are not for ever;

And doth the crown endure unto all generations?

25When the hay is mown, and the tender grass showeth itself,

And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in;

26The lambs will be for thy clothing,

And the goats the price for a field.

27And there will be goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household;

And maintenance for thy maidens.