¹For a bad name will bring reproach and shame,

as happens to every double-tongued sinner.

²Don’t let passion completely overtake you,

or it will tear you apart like an angry bull.

³It will eat your leaves and destroy your fruit

so that you are left as a withered tree.

⁴Those who are filled with evil passion are destroyed by it,

causing their enemies to laugh at them.

Regarding Friendship

⁵A gentle word wins friends,

and gracious speech prompts kindness.

⁶Have many friends,

but let only one in a thousand be your adviser.

⁷When you are looking to gain friends, test them first,

and do not trust them too quickly.

⁸Some friends are loyal only when it suits them,

and they will not stand with you when trouble comes.

⁹Some friends become your enemies

and shame you by publicizing your quarrel.

¹⁰Other friends will dine at your table

but will not stand with you when trouble comes.

¹¹When things are going well for you, they make themselves your equal,

bossing your servants around.

¹²But when times are tough, they turn against you

and hide themselves from you.

¹³Avoid your enemies,

and be on guard even with your friends.

¹⁴A faithful friend is a strong refuge,

and anyone who has found one has found a treasure.

¹⁵Faithful friends are priceless;

their worth can’t be measured.

¹⁶A faithful friend is a lifesaving remedy,

and those who fear the Lord will find one.

¹⁷Those who fear the Lord will make good friends,

for they will find friends among others of like mind.

Seeking Wisdom

¹⁸My child, receive instruction in your youth,

and you will still possess her when your hair turns gray.

¹⁹Come to wisdom as one who plows and plants;

then wait for her good harvest.

You will labor a little as you cultivate her soil,

but you will soon eat of her harvest.

²⁰Wisdom seems harsh to the unlearned!

The foolish will not put up with her.

²¹She will weigh them down as a heavy stone,

and they will quickly abandon her.

²²For wisdom is true to her name,

and she is not attained by many.

²³Listen, my child, and take my advice;

do not discard my instruction.

²⁴Put your feet into wisdom’s fetters

and your neck into her collar.

²⁵Bow down your shoulders and carry her,

and do not resent her bonds.

²⁶Come to her with all your being,

and keep her ways with all your power.

²⁷Search intently for her, and she will reveal herself to you;

when you have taken hold of her, do not let her go.

²⁸In the end you will find rest in her,

and she will become your joy.

²⁹Then her fetters will give you a strong defense,

and her collar will be your robe of glory.

³⁰Her yoke will be a gold ornament,

and her bonds a royal purple cord.

³¹You will wear her like a robe of glory

and put her on your head like a crown of joy.

³²My child, if you will listen to me, you will learn;

if you will apply yourself, you will be intelligent.

³³If you love to listen, you will gain knowledge;

if you pay attention, you will become wise.

³⁴Stand in the company of wise elders;

find out who is wise and stay close to them.

³⁵Be ready to listen to every godly conversation,

and let no wise sayings be missed.

³⁶If you find an intelligent man, get up early each day to visit him;

let your feet wear out his doorstep.

³⁷Let your thoughts dwell on the laws of the Lord,

and meditate continually on his commandments.

He will affirm your thinking,

and the wisdom you desire will be granted.