1 Boast not thyself of to-morrow, For thou knowest not what a day bringeth forth. 2 Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth, A stranger, and not thine own lips. 3 A stone [is] heavy, and the sand [is] heavy, And the anger of a fool Is heavier than they both. 4 Fury [is] fierce, and anger [is] overflowing, And who standeth before jealousy? 5 Better [is] open reproof than hidden love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a lover, And abundant the kisses of an enemy. 7 A satiated soul treadeth down a honeycomb, And [to] a hungry soul every bitter thing [is] sweet. 8 As a bird wandering from her nest, So [is] a man wandering from his place. 9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, And the sweetness of one's friend -- from counsel of the soul. 10 Thine own friend, and the friend of thy father, forsake not, And the house of thy brother enter not In a day of thy calamity, Better [is] a near neighbour than a brother afar off. 11 Be wise, my son, and rejoice my heart. And I return my reproacher a word. 12 The prudent hath seen the evil, he is hidden, The simple have passed on, they are punished. 13 Take his garment, when a stranger hath been surety, And for a strange woman pledge it. 14 Whoso is saluting his friend with a loud voice, In the morning rising early, A light thing it is reckoned to him. 15 A continual dropping in a day of rain, And a woman of contentions are alike, 16 Whoso is hiding her hath hidden the wind, And the ointment of his right hand calleth out. 17 Iron by iron is sharpened, And a man sharpens the face of his friend. 18 The keeper of a fig-tree eateth its fruit, And the preserver of his master is honoured. 19 As [in] water the face [is] to face, So the heart of man to man. 20 Sheol and destruction are not satisfied, And the eyes of man are not satisfied. 21 A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise. 22 If thou dost beat the foolish in a mortar, Among washed things -- with a pestle, His folly turneth not aside from off him. 23 Know well the face of thy flock, Set thy heart to the droves, 24 For riches [are] not to the age, Nor a crown to generation and generation. 25 Revealed was the hay, and seen the tender grass, And gathered the herbs of mountains. 26 Lambs [are] for thy clothing, And the price of the field [are] he-goats, 27 And a sufficiency of goats' milk [is] for thy bread, For bread to thy house, and life to thy damsels! | |