On sin

¹My child, if you have sinned,

don’t do it any longer,

and pray concerning your previous sins.

²Run away from sin

like you would from a snake:

If you go near it, it will bite you.

Its teeth are lion’s teeth,

destroying a person’s life.

³All lawlessness is a two-edged sword,

and there’s no healing for its wound.

⁴Alarm and insolence will strip away wealth;

thus will an arrogant person’s house

be uprooted.

⁵The petition of the poor goes

from their mouth to God’s ears,

and his judgment comes quickly.

⁶Anyone who hates reproof

walks in the footsteps of a sinner,

and those who fear the Lord

will turn back to him from the heart.

⁷Those who are powerful in speech

are widely known,

but those who are thoughtful

know when they slip.

⁸Those who build their houses

with another person’s money

are like those who gather stones

for their own burial mound.

⁹A gathering of lawless people

is the same as bundled flax;

their end is a flaming fire.

¹⁰The path of sinners

is made level with stones,

but its end is the pit of hell.

Wisdom and folly

¹¹Those who keep the Law

become masters of their thoughts;

fearing the Lord

leads ultimately to wisdom.

¹²Those who aren’t clever

won’t receive instruction,

but there is a kind of cleverness

that makes troubles multiply.

¹³The knowledge of the wise

will increase like a flood,

and their counsel is like

a stream of life.

¹⁴The mind of a fool is like a broken jar:[#21.14 LXX entrails]

it can’t hold knowledge.

¹⁵If those who understand

hear a wise word;

Those who like to indulge themselves

hear it and are displeased,

¹⁶A fool’s endless talk

is a burden while on a journey,

but grace will be found

on the lips of the intelligent.

¹⁷The speech of the prudent

will be sought out in an assembly,

and its members will take their words

to heart.

¹⁸Like a house in disrepair,

so is wisdom to the foolish,

and the knowledge of ignorant people

will not stand up to examination.

¹⁹Education is shackles

on the feet of the ignorant,

like manacles on their hand.

²⁰Fools raise their voice in laughter,

but clever people will smile subtly

in silence.

²¹To the prudent,

education is like a gold ornament,

like a bracelet on the arm.

²²The foolish enter quickly into a house,

but experienced people

will be ashamed to do so.

²³The senseless peer into a house

through the door,

but the educated will stand outside.

²⁴Ignorance causes people to listen

through a door,

but the prudent will be distressed

at the dishonor of doing so.

²⁵The lips of strangers

will report these things,

but the words of the prudent

will be placed on a balance.

²⁶Fools say whatever is on their minds,

but the wise remain mindful

of what they say.

²⁷When the ungodly

curse their enemies,

they curse themselves.

²⁸Those who whisper stain themselves,

and they will be hated

by their neighbors.