¹People who are afraid to act

are like filthy stones;

everyone will hiss at their dishonor.

²People who are afraid to act

are like clumps of cow manure;

those who pick it up

will shake off their hand.

³An uneducated son is a disgrace

to a father,

and a daughter’s birth is a liability.

⁴A prudent daughter

will get a husband of her own,

and a daughter in disgrace

is a grief to her parents.

⁵A disrespectful daughter

shames her father and her husband,

and both will despise her.

⁶Ill-timed talk is like party music

during mourning,

but a whipping and discipline

are wisdom at any time.

⁹Whoever teaches a fool

is gluing together a broken pot

or waking up someone

out of a deep sleep.

¹⁰Whoever talks with a fool

converses with someone who is drowsy;

when the conversation is over,

the fool will say, “What is it?

¹¹Weep for the dead,

for they have left the light behind;

Weep sweetly over the dead,

because they are at rest,

¹²Mourn for the dead for seven days,

but mourn for the foolish and the ungodly all the days of their lives.

¹³Don’t talk a lot with fools,

and don’t go to the unintelligent.

Be on guard against them

so that you don’t have trouble

and don’t get dirty

when they shake themselves off.

Stay away from them

and you will find rest,

and their senselessness

won’t make you weary.

¹⁴What’s heavier than lead?

And what name does it have but “Fool”?

¹⁵Sand, salt, and a lump of iron

are easier to bear

than an unintelligent person.

¹⁶A wooden beam fastened into a building

So a heart firmly set

on thoughtful counsel

¹⁷A heart fixed on thoughtful understanding

is like an engraved ornament

on a smooth wall.

¹⁸A protective barrier set on a high place

So a timid heart backed up

by a fool’s plan

Preserving friendship

¹⁹Whoever pricks an eye

will make tears flow,

and whoever pricks a heart

reveals its feelings.

²⁰Whoever throws a stone at birds

scares them off,

and whoever insults a friend

breaks up a friendship.

²¹If you draw a sword on a friend,

don’t despair,

because there can be a way back.

²²If you speak harshly to a friend,

don’t be concerned,

because there can be reconciliation.

But in the case of reproach, arrogance,

the revealing of a secret,

or a treacherous blow,

any friend will flee.

²³Gain your neighbors’ trust

while they are poor,

so that when they are prosperous,

you will be filled along with them.

In a time of distress remain with them

so that when they inherit,

you will be a joint heir.

²⁴Before there’s a fire,

a furnace has vapor and smoke;

so before bloodshed there are insults.

²⁵I won’t be ashamed to shelter friends,

and I won’t hide from them.

²⁶And if something bad happens to me

because of them,

everyone who hears of it

will be on guard against them.

Prayer for protection from sinning

²⁷Who will put a guard on my mouth

and an effective seal upon my lips

so that I don’t fall

because of my speech

and so that my tongue

doesn’t destroy me?