¹A drunken worker[#19.1 Heb Whoever does this]

won’t become rich,

and whoever neglects the little things

will fail little by little.

²Wine and women

will mislead an intelligent person,

and the one who has sex with prostitutes will become more reckless.

³Decay and worms will possess him,

and his reckless soul will be carried away.

⁴Those who trust others too quickly

have empty heads,

and those who sin injure themselves.

⁵Those who rejoice in wickedness

will be condemned.

⁶And those who are reticent to speak

diminish wickedness.

⁷Never repeat something that you’ve heard,

and you will not lose anything.

⁸Don’t report it to a friend or an enemy,

and, as long as it wouldn’t be a sin for you, don’t reveal it.

⁹People might hear you or observe you,

and in time they will hate you.

¹⁰Have you heard some word?

Let it perish along with you.

Have courage!

It won’t make you burst.

¹¹Because of something spoken,

a fool will suffer labor pains

like those caused by a baby

about to be delivered.

¹²Like an arrow stuck in a thigh,

so is a word in the belly of a fool.

¹³Question a friend;

perhaps he didn’t do it.

And if he did, question him

so he doesn’t do it again.

¹⁴Question a neighbor;

perhaps she didn’t say it.

And if she did say it,

question her so that she doesn’t repeat it.

¹⁵Question a friend, because it often

turns out to be a false accusation.

Don’t trust everything that is said.

¹⁶There are those who slip,

and it wasn’t intentional.

Who hasn’t sinned with the tongue?

¹⁷Question your neighbor

before issuing a threat,

and give the Law of the Most High

its place.

Wisdom and cleverness

²⁰Fearing the Lord is the whole of wisdom,

and all wisdom involves

doing the Law.

²²The knowledge of wickedness

isn’t wisdom,

and there is no prudence

in the advice that sinners give.

²³There is a kind of cleverness

that is detestable,

and there is a senseless person

who lacks wisdom.

²⁴Someone who fears God

but who has inferior intelligence

is better than someone

who abounds in intelligence

but who violates the Law.

²⁵There is cleverness that is precise

but unjust,

and there are people who abuse favors

in order to get a favorable decision.

²⁶And there are people who act wickedly, bowed down gloomily,

and their insides are full of treachery.

²⁷They hide their faces,

and they pretend they can’t hear;

when you aren’t paying attention,

they will outrun you.

²⁸If they are prevented from sinning,

it’s because they lack the strength.

If they find an occasion,

they will do evil.

²⁹People are known by their appearance,

and sensible people are recognized

in a face-to-face meeting.

³⁰A person’s clothing,

their vigorous laughter,

and the way they walk

will proclaim things about them.