1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a
day may bring forth.
2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a
stranger, and not thine own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is
heavier than them both.
4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to
stand before envy?
5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an
enemy are deceitful.
7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul
every bitter thing is sweet.
8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that
wandereth from his place.
9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness
of a man's friend by hearty counsel.
10 Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not;
neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy
calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a
brother far off.
11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him
that reproacheth me.
12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the
simple pass on, and are punished.
13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a
pledge of him for a strange woman.
14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in
the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious
woman are alike.
16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his
right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of
his friend.
18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he
that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to
man.
20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are
never satisfied.
21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is
a man to his praise.
22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with
a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look
well to thy herds.
24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to
every generation?
25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and
herbs of the mountains are gathered.
26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of
the field.
27 And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the
food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy
maidens.
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