On wealth

¹Sleeplessness over wealth

makes the body waste away,

and anxiety about wealth

keeps sleep away.

²Worrying will keep you awake,

and serious illness

will chase sleep away.

³Rich people have worked

to accumulate money,

and when they rest,

they fill themselves with their luxuries.

⁴Poor people have worked

to eke out a living,

and when they rest,

they become needy again.

⁵Whoever loves gold won’t be declared just,

and whoever pursues profits

will be led astray by them.

⁶Many have been ruined because of gold,

and their destruction has met them head-on.

⁷It’s a stumbling block for those

who are possessed by it,

and it will take

every senseless person captive.

⁸Happy are the rich

who are without blame

and who don’t follow after gold.

⁹Who are they,

so that we might praise them?

They have done wonders

among the people.

¹⁰Who has been tested by wealth[#31.10 Gk it]

and been found perfect?

Who had the power to sin and didn’t,

and could do evil but didn’t?

¹¹The possessions of such people

will be secure,

and the congregation will tell

of their acts of charity.

Behavior at meals

¹²Have you been seated

at a magnificent table?

Don’t be greedy as you sit there,

and don’t say,

“Look how much food there is!”

¹³Remember, a greedy eye is a bad thing.

What has been created more greedy

than the eye?

For this reason, every face sheds tears.

¹⁴Don’t reach out your hand

for whatever you see,

and don’t crowd your dinner companion by reaching into the same bowl.

¹⁵Put yourself in your companion’s place,

and be considerate in everything.

¹⁶Eat what’s put in front of you

like a normal human being,

and don’t chew rudely,

or you will be hated.

¹⁷Be the first to stop,

to show your good breeding,

and don’t be gluttonous;

otherwise, you will offend.

¹⁸If you have been seated

with a lot of people,

don’t help yourself before they do.

¹⁹A little food is more than enough

for well-educated people!

They won’t gasp for breath

when they lie down to sleep.

²⁰Healthy sleep depends

on not stuffing yourself.

Such people arise early and feel good.

The gluttons suffer the pains of insomnia, nausea, and colic.

²¹If you’ve overstuffed yourself,

get up, vomit far away,

and you will feel better.

²²Listen to me, my child,

and don’t show me contempt,

be careful in everything you do,

and you will never fall sick.

²³People will bless those

who are generous with bread;

they give reliable testimony

to the excellence of such people.

²⁴The city will murmur about those

who are stingy with bread,

giving accurate witness

to the wickedness of such people.

²⁵Don’t demonstrate your bravado

in wine drinking,

because wine has destroyed many.

²⁶A furnace tests the hardening of steel

when it’s dipped,

so wine tests the heart

when the arrogant quarrel.

²⁷If taken in moderation,

wine makes people’s lives better.

What’s life to those who

don’t have wine?

It was created from the beginning

to bring merriment.

²⁸The right amount of wine

consumed at the right time

makes for a joyful heart

and a light spirit.

²⁹Too much wine drunk

in the midst of strife and conflict

makes for a bitter spirit.

³⁰Getting drunk causes fools to lose

their temper and do themselves harm,

reducing their strength,

and adding injuries as well.

³¹Don’t correct your neighbors

at a wine banquet,

and don’t show them contempt

when they are partying;

don’t say any reproachful word

to them,

and don’t trouble them

with any demands.