{With patience} a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.

For coals of fire you will heap upon his head, and Yahweh will reward you.

Answer a fool according to his folly, or else he will be wise in his own eyes.

For lack of wood, a fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling will cease.

On his lips, an enemy will pretend, but {inside} he will harbor deceit.

Though hatred is covered with guile, its evil will be exposed in the assembly.

He who digs a pit, in it he will fall, and he who rolls a stone, on him it will come back.

Do not boast {about tomorrow}, for you do not know what the day will bring.

Cruel [is] wrath and overwhelming [is] anger, but who will stand before jealousy?

Perfume and incense will gladden a heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend [is] {personal advice}.

Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad, and I will answer him who reproaches me [with] a word.

He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, a curse will be reckoned to him.

[In] restraining her, he restrains wind, and his right hand will grasp oil.

He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his master will be honored.

Sheol and Abaddon will not be satisfied, and the eyes of a person will not be satisfied [either].

If you crush a fool in the mortar with the pestle {along with} the crushed grain, it will not drive folly from upon him.

You will surely know the {condition} of your flock; your heart attends to the herds.

When the grass is gone, then green growth will appear, and the herbs of the mountains will be gathered.

Lambs [will be] your clothing, and goats the price of the field.

And [there will be] enough goats' milk for your food, for [the] food of your household and [the] {nourishment} of your maidservants.

By the rebellion of a land, her rulers increase, but by a person of intelligence who knows justice, it will last.

Those who forsake instruction will praise the wicked, but they who guard instruction will struggle against them.

He who keeps instruction [is] a child of understanding, but the companion of gluttons will shame his father.

He who misleads the upright onto the way of evil, into his pits he will fall. But as for the blameless, they will inherit good.

When the righteous triumphs, great [is] the glory, but with [the] rising of the wicked, a person will be hidden.

He who conceals his transgression will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes will obtain mercy.

Happy is the person who fears continuously, but he who is stubborn of heart, will fall into calamity.

A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, [but] those who hate unjust gain will have long days.

A person who is burdened with [the] blood of {another}, until death he will flee; do not take hold of him.

He who walks in integrity will be safe, but he who takes crooked paths will fall in one.

He who tills his ground will have plenty bread, but he who follows fantasies will have plenty [of] poverty.

A man of faithfulness [has] abundant blessings, but he who hurries to become rich will not go unpunished.

{Showing partiality} [is] not good, and over a morsel of bread, a strong man will do wrong.

He who hurries for wealth is {a man with an evil eye}, but he does not know that poverty will come upon him.

He who rebukes a person will afterward find [more] favor than he who flatters [with the] tongue.

The {greedy person} will stir up strife, but he who trusts in Yahweh will be enriched.

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be saved.

With [the] rising of the wicked, humankind will be hidden, and with their perishing, [the] righteous will multiply.

A man who is reproved, being stubborn of neck-- suddenly he will be broken, and there will not be healing.

When the righteous are numerous, the people will rejoice, but when the wicked are ruling, people will groan.

A man who loves wisdom will make his parents glad, but the friend of prostitutes will squander his wealth.

By justice a king gives stability [to] a land, but a man of bribes will ruin it.

In transgression, an evil man [is] a snare, but [the] righteous will sing and rejoice.

A king who judges with truthfulness [to] the poor, his throne will be established forever.

As for a rod and reproof, they will give wisdom, but a neglected child is disgraced [by] his mother.

With the increase of the wicked, transgression will increase, but the righteous will look on his downfall.

Discipline your children, and they will give you rest, and they will give delight to your soul.

By words, a servant is not disciplined, for he will understand, but there is no giving heed.

He who pampers his servant from childhood, {arrogance will be his end}.

A man of anger will stir strife, and the owner of anger, much transgression.

The pride of a person will bring him humiliation, and the lowly of spirit will obtain honor.

Being a partner with a thief is hating one's life; a curse he will hear, but not disclose.

The fear of a person will lay a snare, but he who trusts in Yahweh will be secure.

And I have not learned wisdom, nor will I know knowledge of the Holy One.

Or else I will be satisfied and will deny [him] and say "Who [is] Yahweh?" Or I will be poor and will steal and profane the name of my God.

Do not slander a servant to his master, or else he will curse you and you will be guilty.

[There is] a generation [that] will curse its father, and its mother it will not bless.

[There is] a generation [that is] pure in its own eyes, but from its filthiness it will not be cleansed.

[There is] a generation--how lofty [are] their eyes! And their eyelids they will lift.

The eye [that] mocks a father and scorns the obedience of a mother-- the ravens of the valley will peck it out, and the offspring of vultures will eat it.

a mighty lion among the beasts, but he will not turn back from {any face};

Or else he will drink and forget what has been decreed, and he will pervert the rights of all the {afflicted}.

He will drink and forget his poverty, and his misery he will not remember [any] more.

A woman of excellence, who will find? For her worth [is] far more than precious jewels.

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and gain he will not lack.

She looks after the ways of her household, and the bread of idleness she will not eat.

What has been--it is what will be; what has been done--it is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

There is neither remembrance of former generations, nor will there be remembrance of future generations.

I said {to myself}, "Come! I will test pleasure {to see whether it is worthwhile}." But look, "This also [is] vanity!"

Next, I considered wisdom, as well as delusion and folly. What can anyone [do] who will come after the king that has not already been done?

Certainly no one will remember the wise man or the fool in {future generations}. When [future] days come, both will have been forgotten already. How [is it that] the wise man dies the same as the fool?

So I hated all my toil with which I have toiled under the sun, for I must leave it behind to someone who will be after me.

And who knows [whether] he will be wise or foolish? Yet he will exercise control of all [the fruit of] my toil with which I toiled wisely under the sun. This also [is] vanity!

What is--it already was, and what will be--it already is, for {God will do what he has done.}

So I said {to myself}, "God will surely judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time [of judgment] for every deed and every work."

So I concluded that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy [the fruit of] his labor, for this is his lot in life. {For no one knows what will happen in the future.}

I saw all the living who move about under the sun with the youth; the second who will stand in his place.

There is no end to all the people, to all who were before him. Yet the later generation will not rejoice in him, for this also [is] vanity and chasing wind!

Just as he came from his mother's womb naked, {he will depart} just as he came; he will take nothing with him for his toil.

This also [is] a grievous illness. Exactly as he came, so he will go. What profit [does] he gain for all his toil for the wind?

Whatever is--it was already determined, {what will be--it has already been decided}. As for man, he cannot argue against what is more powerful than him.

For who knows what [is] good for a man in his life during the few days of his fleeting life, which are fleeting as a shadow? For who can tell anyone what will happen {in the future} under the sun?

In the day of prosperity, rejoice! But in the day of adversity, consider! For God made one in place of another so that mortals cannot find out what will happen {in the future}.

[It is] good to take hold of the one and also must not let go of the other; for whoever fears God will hold both of them secure.

All this I have tested with wisdom. I said, "I will be wise!" but {it was beyond my grasp}.

Whoever obeys [his] command will not suffer disaster. The wise mind knows the [proper] time and the right [procedure].

Surely no one knows what will be, so who can tell anyone what will happen?

Just as no one can control the wind to restrain the wind, so also no one can control the day of his death. Just as no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not deliver the wicked.

Although the sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I also know that it will be good for those who fear God--because they fear {his presence}.

But it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not prolong [their] days, like the shadow; because there is no fearing {God's presence}.

So I recommend enjoyment. For there [is] nothing better for man under the sun than to eat and to drink and to rejoice. This will accompany him in his toil the days of his life that God gives to him under the sun.

So all this I laid to my heart, and I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, [are] in the hand of God. So no one knows anything that will [come] to them, whether [it will be] love or hatred.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything. They no longer have a reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.

Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. Whoever breaks through a wall, a snake will bite him.

Whoever {quarries} stones will be wounded by them. Whoever splits logs will be endangered by them.

If the snake bites before the charming, {the snake charmer will not succeed}.

The fool {talks too much}, for no one knows what will be. Who can tell anyone what will happen {in the future}?

Send out your bread on the water, for in many days you will find it.

Divide your share in seven or in eight, for you do not know what disaster will happen on the earth.

When the clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or whether it falls to the north, the place where the tree falls--there it will be.