¹Those who fear the Lord

won’t encounter evil,

but when they are tested

they will be delivered again and again.

²Wise people won’t hate the Law,

but those who are hypocrites about it

are like a boat in a storm.

³Sensible people will trust the Lord’s word;[#33.3 LXX lacks]

for them, the Law is as trustworthy

as divine oracles.

⁴Prepare your speech,

and then you will be heard;

draw upon your training,

and give an answer.

⁵The emotions of the foolish

are like a wagon wheel,

and their arguments are like

a turning axle.

⁶A friend who mocks is like a stallion

that whinnies underneath

anyone who rides him.

⁷Why is one day more significant

than another,

when all the daylight in a year

is from the sun?

⁸The Lord, in his knowledge,

classified them,

and he distinguished between

different seasons and festivals.

⁹He lifted out some days

and made them holy,

and some he made regular days.

¹⁰All people come from the ground,

and Adam was created out of earth.

¹¹In the fullness of his knowledge

the Lord made distinctions

between them,

and he made their ways different.

¹²Some of them he blessed and lifted up,

and some he made holy

and brought them near to himself;

some of them he cursed, brought low,

and expelled them from their place.

¹³Like clay in the potter’s hand,

so are human beings

in the hand of the one

who made them,

¹⁴Good is the opposite of evil,

and life is the opposite of death;

¹⁵Observe, then,

all the works of the Most High,

two by two, one opposite the other.

¹⁶I was the last to keep vigil,

as one who gathered the leftovers

after the grape pickers.

¹⁷By the blessing of the Lord,

I was first on the scene,

and like the grape pickers,

I filled up a wine vat.

¹⁸Understand that I haven’t labored

for myself alone,

but for all those who are seeking instruction.

On independence

¹⁹Listen to me, you who are great

among the people;

pay attention,

you leaders in the congregation.

²⁰Don’t give son or wife, sibling or friend,

authority over you in your lifetime,

and don’t give your property

to someone else,

²¹While you still live

and have breath in you,

don’t exchange places with anyone else.

²²It’s better for your children

to make requests of you

than that you should look to them

for generosity.

²³Excel in everything you do;

don’t bring a stain on your reputation.

²⁴On the last day of your life,

at the moment of death,

distribute your inheritance.

On slaves

²⁵Fodder, a rod, and burdens for donkeys;

bread, discipline,

and work for household slaves.

²⁶Set them to work with discipline,

and you will have leisure;

let their hands be idle,

and they will seek freedom.

²⁷A yoke and a strap will bend a neck,

and there are racks and tortures

for a wicked household slave.

²⁸Put them to work so that they aren’t idle,

²⁹because idleness teaches many evils.

³⁰Set them to work, as is proper for them,

and if they don’t obey,

make their shackles heavy.

³¹If you have household slaves,

treat them like yourself,

because you purchased them with blood.

³²If you mistreat them,

and they leave and run away,

³³on which road will you search for them?