¹A drunken worker will not become rich,

and those who don’t take care of the little they have will fail little by little.

²Wine and women corrupt intelligent men,

and the man who frequents prostitutes is reckless.

³Rottenness and worms will consume him,

and the reckless person will be snatched away.

Caution in Speech

⁴One who trusts others too easily has a shallow mind,

and those who sin hurt themselves.

⁵Those who take pleasure in evil will be condemned.

⁶Those who hate gossip are guarding against evil.

⁷Do not repeat what you hear,

and you will never let anything slip.

⁸Do not tell it to friend or foe;

do not disclose it, unless keeping it a secret would be a sin.

⁹For someone may watch you and hear you,

and over time they will come to hate you.

¹⁰Have you heard something? Let it die with you.

Be strong! It will not make you burst!

¹¹When something is told to fools, they suffer agony

like a woman in labor with a child.

¹²Like an arrow stuck in someone’s thigh,

so is gossip in the heart of a fool.

¹³If you hear a rumor, question your friends about it.

They may have not done anything.

Or if they did, question them so that they may not do it again.

¹⁴Question your neighbors, for they may not have said anything;

but if they have, question them so that they may not repeat it.

¹⁵Question your friends about any rumor,

for it may only be slander against them.

Do not believe everything you hear.

¹⁶A person may make a slip in speech without intending it.

For who has never sinned by something they have said?

¹⁷Question your neighbors before you threaten them,

and let the law of the Most High take its course.

Wisdom Is Better Than Craftiness

²⁰All wisdom comes from fearing the Lord

and always involves practicing the law of Moses.

²²Knowledge about wickedness is not wisdom,

and there is no prudence in the advice of sinners.

²³Certain kinds of cleverness are detestable,

and some people are fools simply because they lack wisdom.

²⁴But better are those who lack wisdom and yet fear God

than those who are brilliant and yet disobey the law of Moses.

²⁵Some cleverness is keen but unjust,

while on the other hand some people pervert the system to get justice.

²⁶There are villains who appear stooped over in grief,

while inwardly they are full of deceit.

²⁷They cover their faces and pretend not to hear,

but once no one is looking, they will take advantage of you.

²⁸Though their lack of strength may keep them from sinning,

if they find an opportunity to do evil, they will do it.

²⁹People are known by their appearance,

and sensible people can be recognized at first sight.

³⁰The way they dress, laugh heartily,

and walk tells you what kind of people they are.