¹Wine is a mocker, strong liquor a rowdy;

anyone led astray by it is unwise.

²The dread of a king is like when a lion roars;

he who makes him angry commits a life-threatening sin.

³Avoiding quarrels brings a person honor;

for any fool can explode in anger.

⁴A lazy person won’t plow in winter;

so at harvest-time, when he looks, there is nothing.

⁵The heart’s real intentions are like deep water;

but a person with discernment draws them out.

⁶Most people announce that they show kindness,

but who can find someone faithful [enough to do it]?

⁷The righteous live a life of integrity;

happy are their children after them.

⁸The king seated on his judgment throne

can winnow out all evil with his glance.

⁹Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,

I am cleansed from my sin”?

¹⁰False weights and false measures —

Adonai detests them both.

¹¹The character of even a child is known by how he acts,

by whether his deeds are pure and right.

¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye —

Adonai made them both.

¹³If you love sleep, you will become poor;

keep your eyes open, and you’ll have plenty of food.

¹⁴“Really bad stuff!” says the buyer [to the seller];

then he goes off and brags [about his bargain].

¹⁵A person may have gold and a wealth of pearls,

but lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.

¹⁶Seize his clothes, because he guaranteed a stranger’s loan;

take them as security for that unknown woman.

¹⁷Food obtained by fraud may taste good,

but later the mouth is full of gravel.

¹⁸After consultation, plans succeed;

so take wise advice when waging war.

¹⁹A gossip goes around revealing secrets,

so don’t get involved with a talkative person.

²⁰Whoever curses his father or mother —

his lamp will go out in total darkness.

²¹Possessions acquired quickly at first

will not be blessed in the end.

²²Don’t say, “I’ll pay back evil for evil”;

wait for Adonai to save you.

²³Adonai detests a double standard in weights,

and false scales are not good.

²⁴A man’s steps are ordered by Adonai ,

so how can a person understand his own ways?

²⁵It is a snare to dedicate a gift to God rashly

and reflect on the vows only afterwards.

²⁶A wise king winnows the wicked [from the righteous]

and threshes them under the cartwheel.

²⁷The human spirit is a lamp of Adonai ;

it searches one’s inmost being.

²⁸Grace and truth preserve a king;

with grace he upholds his throne.

²⁹The pride of the young is their strength;

the dignity of the old is gray hair.

³⁰Blows that wound purge away evil,

yes, beatings [cleanse] one’s inmost being.