Deceptiveness of Appearances

¹ The wisdom of a humble person will lift up his head and will seat him among the great.

² Do not praise a man for his good looks or loathe a person because of his appearance.

³ The bee is small among flying creatures, and her product is the origin of sweet things.

⁴ Do not boast about wearing fine clothes or exalt yourself in the day that you are honoured; for the works of the Lord are wonderful, and his works are concealed among human beings.

⁵ Many kings have had to sit on the ground, but one who was not anticipated has worn a crown.

⁶ Many rulers have been greatly disgraced, and illustrious men have been handed over to others.

Deliberation and Caution

⁷ Do not find fault before you investigate; first consider and then reprove.

⁸ Do not answer before you have heard or interrupt a speaker in the midst of his words.

⁹ Do not argue about a matter that does not concern you or sit with sinners when they judge a case.

¹⁰ My son, do not busy yourself with many matters; if you multiply activities you will not go unpunished, and if you pursue you will not overtake, and by fleeing you will not escape.

¹¹ There is a man who works and toils and presses on, but falls behind so much the more.

¹² There is another who is slow and needs help, who lacks strength and abounds in poverty; and the eyes of the Lord looked upon him for his good and lifted him out of his low estate

¹³ and raised up his head, and many were amazed at him.

¹⁴ Good things and bad, life and death, poverty and wealth, come from the Lord.

¹⁵ Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of the law come from the Lord; affection and the ways of good works come from him.

¹⁶ Error and darkness were created with sinners; evil will grow old with those who take pride in malice.

¹⁷ The gift of the Lord endures for those who are godly, and his favour will bring lasting success.

¹⁸ There is a man who is rich through his diligence and self-denial, and this is the reward allotted to him:

¹⁹ when he says, “I have found rest, and now I shall enjoy my goods!” he does not know how much time will pass until he leaves them to others and dies.

²⁰ Stand by your covenant and attend to it and grow old in your work.

²¹ Do not wonder at the works of a sinner, but trust in the Lord and keep at your toil; for it is easy in the sight of the Lord to enrich a poor man quickly and suddenly.

²² The blessing of the Lord is in the reward of the godly, and quickly his favour flourishes.

²³ Do not say, “What do I need, and what prosperity will be mine in the future?”

²⁴ Do not say, “I have sufficiency, and what harm will befall me in the future?”

²⁵ In the day of prosperity, adversity is forgotten, and in the day of adversity, prosperity is not remembered.

²⁶ For it is easy in the sight of the Lord to reward a person on the day of death accord ing to his conduct.

²⁷ The misery of an hour makes one forget luxury, and at the close of a person’s life his deeds will be revealed.

²⁸ Call no one happy before his death; a man will be known through his children.

Care in Choosing Friends

²⁹ Do not bring every person into your home, for many are the wiles of the crafty.

³⁰ Like a decoy partridge in a cage, so is the heart of a proud person, and like a spy he observes your weakness;

³¹ for he lies in wait, distorting good things into evil, and to desirable things he adds a blemish.

³² From a spark of fire come many burning coals, and a sinner lies in wait to shed blood.

³³ Beware of a scoundrel, for he devises evil things, lest he give you a lasting blemish.

³⁴ Receive a stranger into your home, and he will upset you with commotion and will estrange you from your own.