My child, be attentive to my wisdom, pay close attention to my understanding,

Don't allow yourself to sleep or even to close your eyes.

Say to wisdom, "You're my sister!" and call understanding your close relative,

The merciful and generous man benefits his soul [for his behavior returns to bless him],
But the cruel and callous man does himself harm.

A perverse man spreads strife,
And one who gossips separates intimate friends.

He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love,
But he who repeats or gossips about a matter separates intimate friends.

Look not thou upon the wine, how red it is, and what a color it giveth in the glass.

Smooth lips with an evil heart
are like glaze on an earthen vessel.

As for your friend and a friend of your father, do not forsake [them], and the house of your brother, do not enter on the day of your calamity. Better is a close neighbor than a distant brother.

He who robs his father or his mother
And says, “This is no sin,”
Is [not only a thief but also] the companion of a man who destroys.

There is a generation (class of people) that curses its father
And does not bless its mother.

There is a generation (class of people) that is pure in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

There is a generation (class of people)—oh, how lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are raised in arrogance.

There is a generation (class of people) whose teeth are like swords
And whose jaw teeth are like knives,
To devour the afflicted from the earth
And the needy from among men.