Women and friends

¹Don’t be jealous

of your dearly loved wife

or teach her a bad lesson

that hurts you too.

²Don’t give yourself to a woman

so that she crushes your strength.

³Don’t meet up with a female escort,

since you might fall into her traps.

⁴Don’t hang around

with a female musician,

since you might get caught

in her advances.

⁵Don’t stare at a young woman,

since you might incur punishment

for her.

⁶Don’t give yourself to prostitutes,

since you might lose your inheritance.

⁷Don’t look around in the city streets,

and don’t wander in its deserted areas.

⁸Turn your eye away from a shapely woman,

Many have gone astray

because of a woman’s beauty,

⁹Don’t ever sit with a married woman,[#9.9 Or Don’t sit down at a meal.]

since your soul might be attracted to her

¹⁰Don’t abandon old friends,

New friends are like new wine;

¹¹Don’t envy the good reputation

of sinners,

since you don’t know

how sudden their end will be.

¹²Don’t delight in the success

of the ungodly.

Remember that they won’t

be considered righteous,

¹³Keep far away from people

who have the authority to kill,

and you won’t be worried

by the fear of death.

Be aware that you are stepping

among traps

and that you are walking

on the parapet of the city’s walls.

¹⁴As much as you can,

investigate your neighbor

and consult with wise people.

¹⁵Converse with intelligent people,

and talk constantly about the Law

of the Most High.

¹⁶Let righteous people

be your dinner companions,

and let your pride

be in the fear of the Lord.

On rulers

¹⁷A handicraft is praised

because of the craftsperson’s skill,

and the one who leads a people

is wise in speech.

¹⁸Talkative people are feared in their city,

and people who are reckless in speech

will be hated.