1
Do not envy evil men, and do not desire to be with them.
2
For their heart meditates violence, and their lips speak trouble.
3
By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.
4
And by knowledge its chambers are filled with every precious and pleasant treasure.
5
A wise ish is strong, and an ish of knowledge increases strength.
6
For by wise guidance you shall make war, and in the multitude of counselors there is salvation.
7
Wisdom is too high for a fool. At the gate he does not open his mouth.
8
The one who devises evil shall be called a master of schemes.
9
The devising of foolishness is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to Adam.
10
If you become slack in the day of distress, your strength is narrow.
11
Deliver those being taken away to death, and those staggering toward slaughter— hold them back.
12
If you say, “See, we did not know this,” does not He who weighs hearts understand? And does not He who guards your being know? And shall He not repay Adam according to his work?
13
My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet upon your palate.
14
So shall you know wisdom for your being. If you find it, there shall be an end, and your hope shall not be cut off.
15
Do not lie in wait, wicked one, against the dwelling of the righteous. Do not devastate his resting place.
16
For seven times the righteous may fall and rise again, but the wicked shall stumble into evil.
17
When your enemy falls, do not rejoice, and when he stumbles, do not let your heart be glad,
18
lest Yahuah see and it be evil in His eyes, and He turn away His wrath from him.
19
Do not burn with anger because of evildoers. Do not envy the wicked.
20
For there shall be no future for the evil one. The lamp of the wicked shall be extinguished.
21
My son, fear Yahuah and the king. Do not associate with those who change.
22
For suddenly their calamity shall rise, and who knows the destruction of them both?
23
These also are sayings of the wise: To recognize faces in Judgment is not good.
24
The one who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” peoples shall curse him, nations shall denounce him.
25
But to those who rebuke him it shall be pleasant, and a blessing of good shall come upon them.
26
He kisses the lips who returns an upright answer.
27
Prepare your work outside, and make it ready for yourself in the field. Afterward build your house.
28
Do not become a witness without cause against your neighbor, and do not deceive with your lips.
29
Do not say, “As he did to me, so I shall do to him. I will repay the ish according to his work.”
30
I passed by the field of a lazy ish, and by the vineyard of an Adam lacking heart.
31
And see, it was all overgrown with thorns. Nettles covered its surface, and its stone wall was broken down.
32
And I saw, and set my heart upon it. I looked, and received discipline.
33
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down—
34
and your poverty shall come like a wandering man, and your lack like an armed ish.