For without doubt there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Give ear, my son, and be wise, guiding your heart in the right way

Give ear to your father whose child you are, and do not keep honour from your mother when she is old.

Get for yourself that which is true, and do not let it go for money; get wisdom and teaching and good sense.

The father of the upright man will be glad, and he who has a wise child will have joy because of him.

For a loose woman is a deep hollow, and a strange woman is a narrow water-hole.

Yes, she is waiting secretly like a beast for its food, and deceit by her is increased among men.

Who says, Oh! who says, Ah! who has violent arguments, who has grief, who has wounds without cause, whose eyes are dark?

Keep your eyes from looking on the wine when it is red, when its colour is bright in the cup, when it goes smoothly down:

In the end, its bite is like that of a snake, its wound like the wound of a poison-snake.

The building of a house is by wisdom, and by reason it is made strong:

A wise man is strong; and a man of knowledge makes strength greater.

For by wise guiding you will overcome in war: and in a number of wise guides there is salvation.

Wisdom is outside the power of the foolish: he keeps his mouth shut in the public place.

He whose purposes are bad will be named a man of evil designs.

The purpose of the foolish is sin: and the hater of authority is disgusting to others.

If you give way in the day of trouble, your strength is small.

My son, take honey, for it is good; and the flowing honey, which is sweet to your taste:

For an upright man, after falling seven times, will get up again: but trouble is the downfall of the evil.

These are more sayings of the wise: To have respect for a person's position when judging is not good.

Do not be a violent witness against your neighbour, or let your lips say what is false.

Say not, I will do to him as he has done to me; I will give the man the reward of his work.

These are more wise sayings of Solomon, copied out by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

It is the glory of God to keep a thing secret: but the glory of kings is to have it searched out.

The heaven is high and the earth is deep, and the hearts of kings may not be searched out.

For it is better to have it said to you, Come up here; than for you to be put down in a lower place before the ruler.

A word at the right time is like apples of gold in a network of silver.

Like a nose-ring of gold and an ornament of the best gold, is a wise man who says sharp words to an ear ready to give attention.

As the cold of snow in the time of grain-cutting, so is a true servant to those who send him; for he gives new life to the soul of his master.

As clouds and wind without rain, so is one who takes credit for an offering he has not given.

A judge is moved by one who for a long time undergoes wrongs without protest, and by a soft tongue even bone is broken.

If you have honey, take only as much as is enough for you; for fear that, being full of it, you may not be able to keep it down.

One who gives false witness against his neighbour is a hammer and a sword and a sharp arrow.

Putting one's faith in a false man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth and a shaking foot.

Like one who takes off clothing in cold weather and like acid on a wound, is he who makes melody to a sad heart.

If your hater is in need of food, give him bread; and if he is in need of drink, give him water:

As the north wind gives birth to rain, so is an angry face caused by a tongue saying evil secretly.

It is better to be living in an angle of the house-top, than with a bitter-tongued woman in a wide house.

As cold water to a tired soul, so is good news from a far country.

Like a troubled fountain and a dirty spring, is an upright man who has to give way before evil-doers.

It is not good to take much honey: so he who is not looking for honour will be honoured.

He whose spirit is uncontrolled is like an unwalled town which has been broken into.

Like snow in summer and rain when the grain is being cut, so honour is not natural for the foolish.

As the sparrow in her wandering and the swallow in her flight, so the curse does not come without a cause.

A whip for the horse, a mouth-bit for the ass, and a rod for the back of the foolish.

Give a foolish man a foolish answer, or he will seem wise to himself.

He who sends news by the hand of a foolish man is cutting off his feet and drinking in damage.

The legs of one who has no power of walking are hanging loose; so is a wise saying in the mouth of the foolish.

Giving honour to a foolish man is like attempting to keep a stone fixed in a cord.

Like a thorn which goes up into the hand of a man overcome by drink, so is a wise saying in the mouth of a foolish man.

Like an archer wounding all who go by, is a foolish man overcome by drink.

Like a dog going back to the food which he has not been able to keep down, is the foolish man doing his foolish acts over again.

Have you seen a man who seems to himself to be wise? There is more hope for the foolish than for him.

The hater of work says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.

A door is turned on its pillar, and the hater of work on his bed.

The hater of work puts his hand deep into the basin: lifting it again to his mouth is a weariness to him.

He who gets mixed up in a fight which is not his business, is like one who takes a dog by the ears while it is going by.

As one who is off his head sends about flaming sticks and arrows of death,

So is the man who gets the better of his neighbour by deceit, and says, Am I not doing so in sport?

Without wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no secret talk, argument is ended.

With his lips the hater makes things seem what they are not, but deceit is stored up inside him;

Though his hate is covered with deceit, his sin will be seen openly before the meeting of the people.

He who makes a hole in the earth will himself go falling into it: and on him by whom a stone is rolled the stone will come back again.

A false tongue has hate for those who have clean hearts, and a smooth mouth is a cause of falling.

Let another man give you praise, and not your mouth; one who is strange to you, and not your lips.

A stone has great weight, and sand is crushing; but the wrath of the foolish is of greater weight than these.

Wrath is cruel, and angry feeling an overflowing stream; but who does not give way before envy?

Better is open protest than love kept secret.

The full man has no use for honey, but to the man in need of food every bitter thing is sweet.

Like a bird wandering from the place of her eggs is a man wandering from his station.

Oil and perfume make glad the heart, and the wise suggestion of a friend is sweet to the soul.

Do not give up your friend and your father's friend; and do not go into your brother's house in the day of your trouble: better is a neighbour who is near than a brother far off.

My son, be wise and make my heart glad, so that I may give back an answer to him who puts me to shame.

He who gives a blessing to his friend with a loud voice, getting up early in the morning, will have it put to his account as a curse.

Like an unending dropping on a day of rain is a bitter-tongued woman.

The heating-pot is for silver and the oven-fire for gold, and a man is measured by what he is praised for.

Even if a foolish man is crushed with a hammer in a vessel among crushed grain, still his foolish ways will not go from him.

For wealth is not for ever, and money does not go on for all generations.

The grass comes up and the young grass is seen, and the mountain plants are got in.

The evil man goes running away when no man is after him, but the upright are without fear, like the lion.

A man of wealth who is cruel to the poor is like a violent rain causing destruction of food.

Those who have no respect for the law give praise to the evil-doer; but such as keep the law are against him.

Evil men have no knowledge of what is right; but those who go after the Lord have knowledge of all things.

Better is the poor man whose ways are upright, than the man of wealth whose ways are not straight.

He who keeps the law is a wise son, but he who keeps company with feasters puts shame on his father.

As for the man whose ear is turned away from hearing the law, even his prayer is disgusting.

The man of wealth seems to himself to be wise, but the poor man who has sense has a low opinion of him.

When the upright do well, there is great glory; but when evil-doers are lifted up, men do not let themselves be seen.

He who keeps his sins secret will not do well; but one who is open about them, and gives them up, will get mercy.

Happy is the man in whom is the fear of the Lord at all times; but he whose heart is hard will come into trouble.

Like a loud-voiced lion and a wandering bear, is an evil ruler over a poor people.

The prince who has no sense is a cruel ruler; but he who has no desire to get profit for himself will have long life.

He whose ways are upright will be safe, but sudden will be the fall of him whose ways are twisted.

It is not good to have respect for a man's position: for a man will do wrong for a bit of bread.

He who is ever desiring wealth goes running after money, and does not see that need will come on him.

He who takes from his father or his mother what is theirs by right, and says, It is no sin; is the same as a taker of life.

He who is ever desiring profit is a cause of fighting; but he who puts his faith in the Lord will be made fat.

He whose faith is in himself is foolish; but everyone walking wisely will be kept safe.

When the upright have power, the people are glad; when an evil man is ruler, grief comes on the people.

A man who is a lover of wisdom is a joy to his father: but he who goes in the company of loose women is a waster of wealth.