¹ Blessed is the man who does not blunder with his lips and need not suffer grief for sin.

² Blessed is the one whose heart does not condemn him and who has not given up his hope.

Responsible Use of Wealth

³ Riches are not seemly for a stingy man; and of what use is property to an envious person?

⁴ Whoever accumulates by depriving himself, accumulates for others; and others will live in luxury on his goods.

⁵ The one who is mean to himself, to whom will he be generous? And he will certainly not enjoy his own riches.

⁶ No one is meaner than the man who is grudging to himself, and this is the retribution for his baseness;

⁷ even if he does good, he does it unintentionally and reveals his baseness in the end.

⁸ Evil is the one with a grudging eye; he averts his face and overlooks lives.

⁹ A greedy man’s eye is not satisfied with a portion, and mean injustice withers the soul.

¹⁰ An evil eye begrudges bread, and it is lacking at his table.

¹¹ Child, treat yourself well, according to your means, and present worthy offerings to the Lord. ¹² Remember that death will not delay, and the decree of Hades has not been shown to you.

¹³ Do good to a friend before you die and reach out and give to him as much as you can.

¹⁴ Do not deprive yourself of a happy day; let not your share of desired good pass by you.

¹⁵ Will you not leave the fruit of your labours to another and what you acquired by toil to be divided by lot?

¹⁶ Give and take and beguile yourself, because in Hades one cannot look for luxury.

¹⁷ All living beings become old like a garment, for the decree from of old is, “You will surely die!”

¹⁸ Like flourishing leaves on a spreading tree that sheds some and puts forth others, so are the generations of flesh and blood: one generation dies and another is born.

¹⁹ Every product decays and ceases to exist, and the one who made it will pass away with it.

Happiness of Seeking Wisdom

²⁰ Blessed is the man who meditates on wisdom and who reasons intelligently.

²¹ The one who reflects on her ways in his heart will also ponder her secrets.

²² Pursue wisdom like a hunter and lie in wait on her paths.

²³ The one who peers through her windows will also listen at her doors;

²⁴ the one who encamps near her house will also fasten his tent peg to her walls;

²⁵ he will pitch his tent near her and will lodge in an excellent lodging place;

²⁶ he will place his children under her shelter and will camp under her boughs;

²⁷ he will be sheltered by her from the heat and will dwell in the midst of her glory.