Do not be among those who give pledges,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.

Do not move the ancient boundary
Which your fathers have set.

Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men.

Do not desire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food.

Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,
Cease from your consideration of it.

Do not eat the bread of a selfish man,
Or desire his delicacies;

For as he thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But his heart is not with you.

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

Do not move the ancient boundary
Or go into the fields of the fatherless,

Do not hold back discipline from the child,
Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.

Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But live in the fear of the Lord always.

Surely there is a future,
And your hope will not be cut off.

Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.

Buy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it goes down smoothly;

“They struck me, but I did not become ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink.”

Do not be envious of evil men,
Nor desire to be with them;

Wisdom is too exalted for a fool,
He does not open his mouth in the gate.

If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not render to man according to his work?

Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a future,
And your hope will not be cut off.

Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
Do not destroy his resting place;

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;

Do not fret because of evildoers
Or be envious of the wicked;

My son, fear the Lord and the king;
Do not associate with those who are given to change,

These also are sayings of the wise.
To show partiality in judgment is not good.

Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
And do not deceive with your lips.

Do not say, “Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work.”

Do not claim honor in the presence of the king,
And do not stand in the place of great men;

Do not go out hastily to argue your case;
Otherwise, what will you do in the end,
When your neighbor humiliates you?

Argue your case with your neighbor,
And do not reveal the secret of another,

Or he who hears it will reproach you,
And the evil report about you will not pass away.

Have you found honey? Eat only what you need,
That you not have it in excess and vomit it.

It is not good to eat much honey,
Nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory.

Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest,
So honor is not fitting for a fool.

Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
So a curse without cause does not alight.

Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Or you will also be like him.

Answer a fool as his folly deserves,
That he not be wise in his own eyes.

Like one who takes a dog by the ears
Is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.

So is the man who deceives his neighbor,
And says, “Was I not joking?”

When he speaks graciously, do not believe him,
For there are seven abominations in his heart.

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;
A stranger, and not your own lips.

Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,
And do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;
Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.

Evil men do not understand justice,
But those who seek the Lord understand all things.

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.

To show partiality is not good,
Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.

A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth
And does not know that want will come upon him.

He who robs his father or his mother
And says, “It is not a transgression,”
Is the companion of a man who destroys.

A man who flatters his neighbor
Is spreading a net for his steps.

The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor,
The wicked does not understand such concern.

A slave will not be instructed by words alone;
For though he understands, there will be no response.

Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And I do not have the understanding of a man.

Do not add to His words
Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.

Two things I asked of You,
Do not refuse me before I die:

That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or that I not be in want and steal,
And profane the name of my God.

Do not slander a slave to his master,
Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.

There is a kind of man who curses his father
And does not bless his mother.

There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes,
Yet is not washed from his filthiness.

The leech has two daughters,
“Give,” “Give.”
There are three things that will not be satisfied,
Four that will not say, “Enough”:

There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:

The ants are not a strong people,
But they prepare their food in the summer;

The shephanim are not mighty people,
Yet they make their houses in the rocks;

The lion which is mighty among beasts
And does not retreat before any,

Do not give your strength to women,
Or your ways to that which destroys kings.

It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Or for rulers to desire strong drink,

She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.

She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.

She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.

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

She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.

All the rivers flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
There they flow again.

All things are wearisome;
Man is not able to tell it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.

All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor.

When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil.

Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity.

He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.

For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him, for this too is vanity and striving after wind.

Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.

Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow!

It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?

If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight; for one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them.

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.

The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.

For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.

a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.

If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he,

Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things—do not all go to one place?”

All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.

Do not be eager in your heart to be angry,
For anger resides in the bosom of fools.

Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

In the day of prosperity be happy,
But in the day of adversity consider—
God has made the one as well as the other
So that man will not discover anything that will be after him.