Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips;
how much worse are lies for a ruler.

One with a twisted mind will not succeed,
and one with deceitful speech will fall into ruin.

It is certainly not good to fine an innocent person
or to beat a noble for his honesty.

A fool does not delight in understanding,
but only wants to show off his opinions.

It is not good to show partiality to the guilty
by perverting the justice due the innocent.

Even zeal is not good without knowledge,
and the one who acts hastily sins.

A false witness will not go unpunished,
and one who utters lies will not escape.

All the brothers of a poor man hate him;
how much more do his friends
keep their distance from him!
He may pursue them with words,
but they are not there.

A false witness will not go unpunished,
and one who utters lies perishes.

Luxury is not appropriate for a fool—
how much less for a slave to rule over princes!

The fear of the Lord leads to life;
one will sleep at night without danger.

Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler,
and whoever staggers because of them is not wise.

The slacker does not plow during planting season;
at harvest time he looks, and there is nothing.

An inheritance gained prematurely
will not be blessed ultimately.

The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
will himself also call out and not be answered.

The one who loves pleasure will become a poor man;
whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.

Teach a youth about the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand in the presence of kings.
He will not stand in the presence of unknown men.

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for it’s like someone calculating inwardly.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.

Don’t withhold discipline from a youth;
if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

Buy—and do not sell—truth,
wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

Wisdom is inaccessible to a fool;
he does not open his mouth at the gate.

These sayings also belong to the wise:

It is not good to show partiality in judgment.

and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.

The man who boasts about a gift that does not exist
is like clouds and wind without rain.

If you find honey, eat only what you need;
otherwise, you’ll get sick from it and vomit.

It is not good to eat too much honey
or to seek glory after glory.

A man who does not control his temper
is like a city whose wall is broken down.

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A person who is passing by and meddles in a quarrel that’s not his
is like one who grabs a dog by the ears.

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—
a stranger, and not your own lips.

Though you grind a fool
in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,
you will not separate his foolishness from him.

for wealth is not forever;
not even a crown lasts for all time.

Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord understand everything.

The one who conceals his sins
will not prosper,
but whoever confesses and renounces them
will find mercy.

A faithful man will have many blessings,
but one in a hurry to get rich
will not go unpunished.

It is not good to show partiality—
yet a man may sin for a piece of bread.

The one who gives to the poor
will not be in need,
but one who turns his eyes away
will receive many curses.

A man who flatters his neighbor
spreads a net for his feet.

The righteous person knows the rights of the poor,
but the wicked one does not understand these concerns.

To be a thief’s partner is to hate oneself;
he hears the curse but will not testify.

I have not gained wisdom,
and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.

Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.

There is a generation that curses its father
and does not bless its mother.

There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
yet is not washed from its filth.

the ants are not a strong people,
yet they store up their food in the summer;

hyraxes are not a mighty people,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;

It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.

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

She rewards him with good, not evil,
all the days of her life.

She rises while it is still night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her female servants.

She sees that her profits are good,
and her lamp never goes out at night.

She is not afraid for her household when it snows,
for all in her household are doubly clothed.

All things are wearisome;
man is unable to speak.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing
or the ear filled with hearing.

All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.

When there is a man whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.

For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “So who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself from good?” This too is futile and a miserable task.

And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because He does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you, and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy.

A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he.

And if he lives a thousand years twice, but does not experience happiness, do not both go to the same place?

Whatever exists was given its name long ago, and it is known what man is. But he is not able to contend with the One stronger than he.

Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?”
since it is not wise of you to ask this.

It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, her heart a net, and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her.

which my soul continually searches for but does not find: among a thousand people I have found one true man, but among all these I have not found a true woman.

Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, and don’t persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants.

The one who keeps a command will not experience anything harmful, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.

No one has authority over the wind to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death; there is no furlough in battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape.

Because the sentence against a criminal act is not carried out quickly, the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit crime.

However, it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, for they are not reverent before God.

When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one’s eyes do not close in sleep day or night),

Everything is the same for everyone: there is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as for the one who takes an oath, so for the one who fears an oath.

Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them.

For man certainly does not know his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.

And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge,
then one must exert more strength;
however, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success.

Blessed are you, land, when your king is a son of nobles
and your princes feast at the proper time—
for strength and not for drunkenness.

Do not curse the king even in your thoughts,
and do not curse a rich person even in your bedroom,
for a bird of the sky may carry the message,
and a winged creature may report the matter.

One who watches the wind will not sow,
and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.

In the morning sow your seed,
and at evening do not let your hand rest,
because you don’t know which will succeed,
whether one or the other,
or if both of them will be equally good.

Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me a keeper of the vineyards.
I have not kept my own vineyard.

M If you do not know,
most beautiful of women,
follow the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
near the shepherds’ tents.

My love is a sachet of myrrh to me,
spending the night between my breasts.

Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.

In my bed at night
I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but did not find him.

I will arise now and go about the city,
through the streets and the plazas.
I will seek the one I love.
I sought him, but did not find him.

I had just passed them
when I found the one I love.
I held on to him and would not let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house—
to the chamber of the one who conceived me.

Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.

All of them are skilled with swords
and trained in warfare.
Each has his sword at his side
to guard against the terror of the night.

Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from washing,
each one having a twin,
and not one missing.

W I sleep, but my heart is awake.
A sound! My love is knocking!

M Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
For my head is drenched with dew,
my hair with droplets of the night.