- 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 vexation is heavier than they both.
- 4
- Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming;
but who is able to stand before jealousy?
- 5
- Better is open rebuke than love that is hidden.
- 6
- Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
but the kisses of an enemy are importunate.
- 7
- The full soul loatheth a 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;
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 taunteth me.
- 12
- A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself;
but the thoughtless pass on, and are punished.
- 13
- Take his garment that is surety for a stranger;
and hold him in pledge that is surety for an alien 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
- He that would hide her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand betrayeth 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;
and 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
- The nether-world and Destruction are never satiated;
so the eyes of man are never satiated.
- 21
- The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, and a man is tried by his praise.
- 22
- Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle among groats, 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 unto all generations?
- 25
- When the hay is mown, and the tender grass showeth itself, and the herbs of the mountains are gathered in;
- 26
- The lambs will be for thy clothing, and the goats the price for a field.
- 27
- And there will be goats" milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household;
and maintenance for thy maidens.
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