Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, so is the person passing by who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own.

so is a person who deceives his neighbor, and says, "Was I not only joking?"

When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations within him.

Do not boast about tomorrow; for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.

Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not enter your brother's house in the day of your disaster; a neighbor nearby is better than a brother far away.

If you should pound the fool in the mortar among the grain with the pestle, his foolishness would not depart from him.

for riches do not last forever, nor does a crown last from generation to generation.

Evil people do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it all.

The one who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy.

A faithful person will have an abundance of blessings, but the one who hastens to gain riches will not go unpunished.

The stingy person hastens after riches and does not know that poverty will overtake him.

The one who gives to the poor will not lack, but whoever shuts his eyes to them will receive many curses.

The one who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his steps.

The righteous person cares for the legal rights of the poor; the wicked does not understand such knowledge.

Whoever shares with a thief is his own enemy; he hears the oath to testify, but does not talk.

Surely I am more brutish than any other human being, and I do not have human understanding;

I have not learned wisdom, nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One.

Do not add to his words, lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar.

Two things I ask from you; do not refuse me before I die:

Remove falsehood and lies far from me; do not give me poverty or riches, feed me with my allotted portion of bread,

Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you are found guilty.

There is a generation who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.

There is a generation who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not washed from their filthiness.

the grave, the barren womb, land that is not satisfied with water, and fire that never says, "Enough!"

There are three things that are too wonderful for me, four that I do not understand:

This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I have not done wrong."

a lion, mightiest of the beasts, who does not retreat from anything;

Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which ruins kings.

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,

She brings him good and not evil all the days of her life.

She also gets up while it is still night, and provides food for her household and a portion to her female servants.

She knows that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out in the night.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all of her household are clothed with scarlet.

She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again.

No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations.

I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. So all my accomplishments gave me joy; this was my reward for all my effort.

For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies -- just like the fool!

For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!

For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!

But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.

Although an assailant may overpower one person, two can withstand him. Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken.

There is no end to all the people nor to the past generations, yet future generations will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like chasing the wind.

Be careful what you do when you go to the temple of God; draw near to listen rather than to offer a sacrifice like fools, for they do not realize that they are doing wrong.

Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth! Therefore, let your words be few.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay in paying it. For God takes no pleasure in fools: Pay what you vow!

It is better for you not to vow than to vow and not pay it.

Do not let your mouth cause you to sin, and do not tell the priest, "It was a mistake!" Why make God angry at you so that he would destroy the work of your hands?"

If you see the extortion of the poor, or the perversion of justice and fairness in the government, do not be astonished by the matter. For the high official is watched by a higher official, and there are higher ones over them!

The sleep of the laborer is pleasant -- whether he eats little or much -- but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.

God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor -- instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.

if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity. For both of them die!

Do not let yourself be quickly provoked, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these days?" for it is not wise to ask that.

So do not be excessively righteous or excessively wise; otherwise you might be disappointed.

Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time.

For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.

Also, do not pay attention to everything that people say; otherwise, you might even hear your servant cursing you.

I discovered this: More bitter than death is the kind of woman who is like a hunter's snare; her heart is like a hunter's net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her.

What I have continually sought, I have not found; I have found only one upright man among a thousand, but I have not found one upright woman among all of them.

Do not rush out of the king's presence in haste -- do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, for he can do whatever he pleases.

Whoever obeys his command will not experience harm, and a wise person knows the proper time and procedure.

Not only that, but I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple, and as they left the holy temple, they boasted in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.

When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime, the human heart is encouraged to do evil.

But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.

When I tried to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth -- even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night --

then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.

Everyone shares the same fate -- the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything; they have no further reward -- and even the memory of them disappears.

Let your clothes always be white, and do not spare precious ointment on your head.

Again, I observed this on the earth: the race is not always won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity does not always belong to those who are the wisest, wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning, nor does success always come to those with the most knowledge -- for time and chance may overcome them all.

Surely, no one knows his appointed time! Like fish that are caught in a deadly net, and like birds that are caught in a snare -- just like them, all people are ensnared at an unfortunate time that falls upon them suddenly.

If the anger of the ruler flares up against you, do not resign from your position, for a calm response can undo great offenses.

If an iron axhead is blunt and a workman does not sharpen its edge, he must exert a great deal of effort; so wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

The toil of a stupid fool wears him out, because he does not even know the way to the city.

Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time -- with self-control and not in drunkenness.

Do not curse a king even in your thoughts, and do not curse the rich while in your bedroom; for a bird might report what you are thinking, or some winged creature might repeat your words.

Divide your merchandise among seven or even eight investments, for you do not know what calamity may happen on earth.

He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap.

Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

Sow your seed in the morning, and do not stop working until the evening; for you do not know which activity will succeed -- whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally.

Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught knowledge to the people; he carefully evaluated and arranged many proverbs.

Do not stare at me because I am dark, for the sun has burned my skin. My brothers were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards. Alas, my own vineyard I could not keep!

The Lover to His Beloved: If you do not know, O most beautiful of women, simply follow the tracks of my flock, and pasture your little lambs beside the tents of the shepherds.

My beloved is like a fragrant pouch of myrrh spending the night between my breasts.

The Beloved to the Maidens: I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields: Do not awaken or arouse love until it pleases!

The Beloved about Her Lover: All night long on my bed I longed for my lover. I longed for him but he never appeared.

"I will arise and look all around throughout the town, and throughout the streets and squares; I will search for my beloved." I searched for him but I did not find him.

The night watchmen found me -- the ones who guard the city walls. "Have you seen my beloved?"

Scarcely had I passed them by when I found my beloved! I held onto him tightly and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother's house, to the bedroom chamber of the one who conceived me.

The Adjuration Refrain The Beloved to the Maidens:I admonish you, O maidens of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields: "Do not awake or arouse love until it pleases!"

All of them are skilled with a sword, well-trained in the art of warfare. Each has his sword at his side, to guard against the terrors of the night.

Your teeth are like a flock of newly-shorn sheep coming up from the washing place; each of them has a twin, and not one of them is missing.

The Beloved about Her Lover: I was asleep, but my mind was dreaming. Listen! My lover is knocking at the door! The Lover to His Beloved: "Open for me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one! My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night."

I opened for my beloved, but my lover had already turned and gone away. I fell into despair when he departed. I looked for him but did not find him; I called him but he did not answer me.

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin; not one of them is missing.

The Beloved to Her Lover: Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside; let us spend the night in the villages.

The Beloved to the Maidens: I admonish you, O maidens of Jerusalem: "Do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases!"