1 D o not talk much about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring.

Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

2 L et another man praise you, and not your own mouth. Let a stranger, and not your own lips.

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

3 A stone is heavy, and sand is heavy, but to be made angry by a fool weighs more than both of them.

A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.

4 A nger causes trouble and a bad temper is like a flood, but who can stand when there is jealousy?

Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

5 S harp words spoken in the open are better than love that is hidden.

Open rebuke is better than secret love.

6 T he pains given by a friend are faithful, but the kisses of one who hates you are false.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

7 H e who is full hates honey, but any bitter thing is sweet to a hungry man.

The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

8 L ike a bird that goes away from her nest, so is a man who goes away from his home.

As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.

9 O il and perfume make the heart glad, so are a man’s words sweet to his friend.

Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.

10 D o not leave your own friend or your father’s friend alone, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your trouble. A neighbor who is near is better than a brother who is far away.

Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

11 B e wise, my son, and make my heart glad, so I may answer him who puts me to shame.

My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

12 A wise man sees sin and hides himself, but the fool goes on and suffers for it.

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

13 T ake the man’s coat who has given himself as trust for what a stranger owes. And hold him to his promise who has given it as trust for a sinful woman.

Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

14 H e who praises his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning will be thought of as saying bad things against him.

He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

15 A n arguing woman is like water falling drop by drop on a day it is raining.

A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

16 T o try to stop her is like trying to stop the wind, or like trying to catch oil in his right hand.

Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

17 I ron is made sharp with iron, and one man is made sharp by a friend.

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

18 H e who cares for the fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who cares for the one he works for will be honored.

Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

19 A s water acts as a mirror to a face, so the heart of man acts as a mirror to a man.

As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.

20 T he place of the dead is never filled, and the eyes of man are never filled.

Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

21 T he melting-pot is for silver and the fire for gold, and a man is tested by the praise he receives.

As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

22 E ven if you crush a fool in a pot used for crushing grain, his foolish way will not leave him.

Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

23 K now well how your flocks are doing, and keep your mind on your cattle.

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

24 R iches do not last forever, and a crown does not pass from family to family.

For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

25 W hen the grass is gone, the new plants are seen, and the plants of the mountains are gathered in.

The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

26 T he lambs will be for your clothes, and the goats will bring the price of a field.

The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

27 T here will be enough goats’ milk for your food, for the food of all your house, and a living for your young women.

And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.