¹Blessed are those who have not erred in their speech

and who are not plagued by remorse for sin.

²Blessed are those who are not wracked by guilt

and who have not given up hope.

³Riches are not appropriate for those who think small.

What use is money to a miser?

⁴By depriving himself, he is only storing up for others,

and they will enjoy a life of luxury with his possessions.

⁵If people are stingy toward themselves, to whom will they be generous?

They don’t even enjoy their own wealth.

⁶No one is worse than those who are stingy with themselves;

they punish themselves by their own stinginess.

⁷If they do good, it is by mistake;

in the end they show that they are mean.

⁸Misers are wicked;

they turn away from people and disregard them.

⁹Greedy people are never satisfied with their share;

their souls will shrivel up from greed.

¹⁰Misers are reluctant to share food,

and even their own meals are meager.

¹¹My child, be good to yourself with what you have,

and give worthy offerings to the Lord.

¹²Remember that death advances steadily

and that the decree of the grave has not been shown to you.

¹³Be good to your friends while you are still alive;

reach out and give to them as much as you can.

¹⁴Don’t forget to enjoy the good things each day brings,

and don’t let your part of a good gift pass you by.

¹⁵When you die, others will receive your hard-earned possessions;

everything you worked for will be randomly distributed to others.

¹⁶Give, take, and be good to yourself,

for you cannot find luxury in the place of the dead.

¹⁷Like a garment, all living beings grow old,

for the age-old decree is: “You will die.”

¹⁸The generations of flesh and blood

are like the many leaves of a growing tree.

The tree sheds some leaves and puts forth new ones.

So also one generation dies and another is born.

¹⁹All things made by people decay and disappear,

and those who made them will eventually pass away with them.

The Pursuit of Wisdom

²⁰Blessed are those who meditate on wisdom

and reflect on knowledge.

²¹They consider wisdom’s ways

and ponder her secrets.

²²They pursue her like a hunter

and wait to ambush her along her paths.

²³They look for her through her windows

and listen for her at her doors.

²⁴They camp near her house

and fasten their tent pegs to her wall.

²⁵They pitch their tent near her;

in this way they find a good place to live.

²⁶They place their children under her shelter

and camp under her branches.

²⁷She protects them from the heat,

and they live amidst her glory.