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1Whoever touches pitch gets dirty,[#Isa 52.11; 2 Cor 6.17]
and whoever associates with the proud will become like them.
2Do not lift a weight too heavy for you
or associate with one mightier and richer than you.
How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle?
The pot will strike against it and be smashed.
3A rich person does wrong and even adds insults;[#Prov 18.23]
a poor person suffers wrong and must add apologies.
4Rich people will exploit you if you can be of use to them,[#13.4 Gk He; #13.4 Heb: Gk work with you]
but if you are in need they will abandon you.
5If you own something, they will live with you;
they will drain your resources without a qualm.
6When they need you, they will deceive you
and will smile at you and encourage you;
they will speak to you kindly and say, “What do you need?”
7They will embarrass you with their delicacies,[#Prov 23.3; Sir 12.18]
until they have drained you two or three times,
and finally they will laugh at you.
Should they see you afterwards, they will pass you by
and shake their heads at you.
8Take care not to be led astray
and humiliated when you are enjoying yourself.
9When the influential invite you, be reserved,
and they will invite you more insistently.
10Do not be forward, or you may be rebuffed;[#Prov 25.6, 7]
do not stand aloof, or you will be forgotten.
11Do not try to treat them as equals[#Sir 32.9]
or trust their lengthy conversations,
for they will test you by prolonged talk,
and while they smile they will be examining you.
12Cruel are those who do not keep your secrets;
they will not spare you harm or imprisonment.
13Be on your guard and very careful,
for you are walking about with your own downfall.
15Every creature loves its like[#Sir 18.13]
and every person a neighbor.
16All living beings associate with their own kind,[#Sir 27.9]
and people stick close to those like themselves.
17What does a wolf have in common with a lamb?[#Prov 29.27; 2 Cor 6.14, 15]
No more has a sinner with the devout.
18What peace is there between a hyena and a dog,
and what peace between the rich and the poor?
19Wild asses in the wilderness are the prey of lions;[#Isa 3.14, 15; Jer 2.24; Am 8.4]
likewise the poor are feeding grounds for the rich.
20Humility is an abomination to the proud;
likewise the poor are an abomination to the rich.
21When the rich person totters, he is supported by friends,[#Prov 14.20; 19.7]
but when the humble falls, he is pushed away by friends.
22If the rich person slips, many come to the rescue;[#Eccl 9.15, 16; Sir 10.23; 26.28]
he speaks unseemly words, but they justify him.
If the humble person slips, they even criticize him;
he talks sense but is not given a hearing.
23The rich person speaks, and all are silent;
they extol to the clouds what he says.
The poor person speaks, and they say, “Who is this fellow?”
And should he stumble, they push him down.
24Riches are good if they are free from sin;[#Jer 17.11]
poverty is evil only in the opinion of the ungodly.
25The heart changes the countenance[#Sir 12.18]
either for good or for evil.
26The sign of a happy heart is a cheerful face,[#Prov 15.13; Eccl 12.12]
but to devise proverbs requires strenuous thinking.