¹My child, don’t cheat the poor out of their livelihood,

and don’t hold back from helping the destitute.

²Don’t aggravate the hungry,

and don’t provoke the needy.

³Don’t cause more troubles for the desperate,

and don’t delay in giving to those in need.

⁴Don’t ignore the pleas of those in distress,

and don’t turn your face away from the poor.

⁵Don’t turn your eyes away from the needy,

and give no one a reason to curse you.

⁶For if people curse you out of bitterness,

their Creator will hear them.

⁷Make yourself welcome in your congregation;

show respect to the great.

⁸Listen to the poor,

and return their greetings courteously.

⁹Rescue the oppressed from the oppressor,

and don’t be fainthearted when giving a verdict.

¹⁰Be a father to the fatherless,

and act as a husband to their mother.

You will be like an obedient son of the Most High,

and he will love you more than your own mother does.

The Rewards of Wisdom

¹¹Wisdom exalts her children

and helps those who seek her.

¹²Anyone who loves her loves life;

those who look for her early in the morning will be filled with joy.

¹³Anyone who holds tight to her will inherit honor;

the Lord blesses every place she enters.

¹⁴Those who serve her are really serving the Holy One;

the Lord loves those who love her.

¹⁵Those who obey her will judge the nations,

and those who listen to her will remain secure.

¹⁶If they trust in wisdom, they will inherit her,

and their descendants will also possess her.

¹⁷At first she will lead people down winding trails,

causing them fear and apprehension.

She will discipline them and test them

until they come to trust her.

¹⁸Then she will immediately return to them and give them joy;

she will reveal her secrets to them.

¹⁹But if they go astray, wisdom will forsake them

and hand them over to destruction.

Wisdom in Speech

²⁰Be on guard all the time, and watch out for evil,

but don’t be overly modest about yourself.

²¹For one kind of modesty leads to sin,

but another kind leads to honor and favor.

²²Don’t favor others so much that you harm yourself

or defer to others to the point that you cause your own downfall.

²³Don’t hesitate to speak at the proper moment.

And don’t hide your wisdom.

²⁴For wisdom is revealed by what you say,

and instruction by the words you speak.

²⁵Never contradict the truth;

instead, be ashamed of your own ignorance.

²⁶Don’t be ashamed to confess your sins,

and don’t fight against the current of a river.

²⁷Don’t let a fool tell you what to do,

but don’t show favor to the powerful.

²⁸Fight for truth even to the point of death,

and the Lord God will fight for you.

Guarding against Overconfidence

²⁹Don’t be hasty in your speech

or slow and lazy in your actions.

³⁰Don’t be like a lion in your home

or suspicious of your servants.

³¹Don’t open your hands to receive from others

and then close them when it is time to give.