All the day desiring he hath desired, And the righteous giveth and withholdeth not.

A horse is prepared for a day of battle, And the deliverance is of Jehovah!

Give instruction to a youth about his way, Even when he is old he turneth not from it.

The rich over the poor ruleth, And a servant is the borrower to the lender.

The good of eye -- he is blessed, For he hath given of his bread to the poor.

He is oppressing the poor to multiply to him, He is giving to the rich -- only to want.

Incline thine ear, and hear words of the wise, And thy heart set to my knowledge,

That thy trust may be in Jehovah, I caused thee to know to-day, even thou.

Have I not written to thee three times With counsels and knowledge?

To cause thee to know the certainty of sayings of truth, To return sayings of truth to those sending thee.

Lest thou learn his paths, And have received a snare to thy soul.

If thou hast nothing to pay, Why doth he take thy bed from under thee?

When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Thou considerest diligently that which is before thee,

And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou art a man of appetite.

Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it is lying food.

Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not.

For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.

Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to his dainties,

For as he hath thought in his soul, so is he, 'Eat and drink,' saith he to thee, And his heart is not with thee.

Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings of knowledge.

Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But -- in the fear of Jehovah all the day.

Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.

Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine eyes watch my ways.

Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out mixed wine.

Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.

For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.

Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.

The thought of folly is sin, And an abomination to man is a scorner.

Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,

If from delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter -- thou keepest back.

When thou sayest, 'Lo, we knew not this.' Is not the Ponderer of hearts He who understandeth? And the Keeper of thy soul He who knoweth? And He hath rendered to man according to his work.

Eat my son, honey that is good, And the honeycomb -- sweet to thy palate.

So is the knowledge of wisdom to thy soul, If thou hast found that there is a posterity And thy hope is not cut off.

Lay not wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting-place.

For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.

These also are for the wise: -- To discern faces in judgment is not good.

Whoso is saying to the wicked, 'Thou art righteous,' Peoples execrate him -- nations abhor him.

And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.

Say not, 'As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.'

And I see -- I -- I do set my heart, I have seen -- I have received instruction,

A little sleep -- a little slumber -- A little folding of the hands to lie down.

The honour of God is to hide a thing, And the honour of kings to search out a matter.

For better that he hath said to thee, 'Come thou up hither,' Than that he humble thee before a noble, Whom thine eyes have seen.

Go not forth to strive, haste, turn, What dost thou in its latter end, When thy neighbour causeth thee to blush?

Lest the hearer put thee to shame, And thine evil report turn not back.

A ring of gold, and an ornament of pure gold, Is the wise reprover to an attentive ear.

As a vessel of snow in a day of harvest, So is a faithful ambassador to those sending him, And the soul of his masters he refresheth.

A bad tooth, and a tottering foot, Is the confidence of the treacherous in a day of adversity.

Whoso is taking away a garment in a cold day, Is as vinegar on nitre, And a singer of songs on a sad heart.

If he who is hating thee doth hunger, cause him to eat bread, And if he thirst, cause him to drink water.

For coals thou art putting on his head, And Jehovah giveth recompense to thee.

Better to sit on a corner of a roof, Than with a woman of contentions, and a house of company.

Answer not a fool according to his folly, Lest thou be like to him -- even thou.

Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.

Weak have been the two legs of the lame, And a parable in the mouth of fools.

As one who is binding a stone in a sling, So is he who is giving honour to a fool.

As a dog hath returned to its vomit, A fool is repeating his folly.

The slothful hath hid his hand in a dish, He is weary of bringing it back to his mouth.

As one pretending to be feeble, Who is casting sparks, arrows, and death,

Coal to burning coals, and wood to fire, And a man of contentions to kindle strife.

The words of a tale-bearer are as self-inflicted wounds, And they have gone down to the inner parts of the heart.

Whoso is digging a pit falleth into it, And the roller of a stone, to him it turneth.

Boast not thyself of to-morrow, For thou knowest not what a day bringeth forth.

A satiated soul treadeth down a honeycomb, And to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

Thine own friend, and the friend of thy father, forsake not, And the house of thy brother enter not In a day of thy calamity, Better is a near neighbour than a brother afar off.

Whoso is saluting his friend with a loud voice, In the morning rising early, A light thing it is reckoned to him.

A continual dropping in a day of rain, And a woman of contentions are alike,

As in water the face is to face, So the heart of man to man.

A refining pot is for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.

Know well the face of thy flock, Set thy heart to the droves,

For riches are not to the age, Nor a crown to generation and generation.

And a sufficiency of goats' milk is for thy bread, For bread to thy house, and life to thy damsels!

Whoso is keeping the law is an intelligent son, And a friend of gluttons, Doth cause his father to blush.

Whoso is causing the upright to err in an evil way, Into his own pit he doth fall, And the perfect do inherit good.

A stedfast man hath multiplied blessings, And whoso is hasting to be rich is not acquitted.

To discern faces is not good, And for a piece of bread doth a man transgress.

Whoso is robbing his father, or his mother, And is saying, 'It is not transgression,' A companion he is to a destroyer.

Whoso is giving to the poor hath no lack, And whoso is hiding his eyes multiplied curses.

A ruler who is attending to lying words, All his ministers are wicked.

In the multiplying of the wicked transgression multiplieth, And the righteous on their fall do look.

Chastise thy son, and he giveth thee comfort, Yea, he giveth delights to thy soul.

An abomination to the righteous is the perverse man, And an abomination to the wicked is the upright in the way!

Who went up to heaven, and cometh down? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound waters in a garment? Who established all ends of the earth? What is His name? and what His son's name? Surely thou knowest!

Every saying of God is tried, A shield He is to those trusting in Him.

Add not to His words, lest He reason with thee, And thou hast been found false.

Two things I have asked from Thee, Withhold not from me before I die.

Vanity and a lying word put far from me, Poverty or wealth give not to me, Cause me to eat the bread of my portion,

A generation -- swords are their teeth, And knives -- their jaw-teeth, To consume the poor from earth, And the needy from among men.

To the leech are two daughters, 'Give, give, Lo, three things are not satisfied, Four have not said 'Sufficiency;'

An eye that mocketh at a father, And despiseth to obey a mother, Dig it out do ravens of the valley, And eat it do young eagles.

Three things have been too wonderful for me, Yea, four that I have not known:

For three things hath earth been troubled, And for four -- it is not able to bear:

A king there is not to the locust, And it goeth out -- each one shouting,

A spider with two hands taketh hold, And is in the palaces of a king.

If thou hast been foolish in lifting up thyself, And if thou hast devised evil -- hand to mouth!

Give not to women thy strength, And thy ways to wiping away of kings.

Not for kings, O Lemuel, Not for kings, to drink wine, And for princes a desire of strong drink.

Give strong drink to the perishing, And wine to the bitter in soul,

Yea, she riseth while yet night, And giveth food to her household, And a portion to her damsels.

Her hand she hath spread forth to the poor, Yea, her hands she sent forth to the needy.