² A wise servant will rule over ^(B)a son who causes shame,
And will share an inheritance among the brothers.

³ The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
^(C)But the Lord tests the hearts.

⁴ An evildoer gives heed to false lips;
A liar listens eagerly to a ^[b]spiteful tongue.

^5 (D)He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker;
^(E)He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

^6 (F)Children’s children are the crown of old men,
And the glory of children is their father.

⁷ Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool,
Much less lying lips to a prince.

⁸ A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor;
Wherever he turns, he prospers.

^9 (G)He who covers a transgression seeks love,
But ^(H)he who repeats a matter separates friends.

^10 (I)Rebuke is more effective for a wise man
Than a hundred blows on a fool.

¹¹ An evil man seeks only rebellion;
Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹² Let a man meet ^(J)a bear robbed of her cubs,
Rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³ Whoever ^(K)rewards evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴ The beginning of strife is like releasing water;
Therefore ^(L)stop contention before a quarrel starts.

^15 (M)He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.

¹⁶ Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom,
Since he has no heart for it?

^17 (N)A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.

^18 (O)A man devoid of ^[c]understanding ^[d]shakes hands in a pledge,
And becomes ^[e]surety for his friend.

¹⁹ He who loves transgression loves strife,
And ^(P)he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.

²⁰ He who has a ^[f]deceitful heart finds no good,
And he who has ^(Q)a perverse tongue falls into evil.

²¹ He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow,
And the father of a fool has no joy.

²² A ^(R)merry heart ^[g]does good, like medicine,
But a broken spirit dries the bones.

²³ A wicked man accepts a bribe ^[h]behind the back
To pervert the ways of justice.

^24 (S)Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,
But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

²⁵ A ^(T)foolish son is a grief to his father,
And bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶ Also, to punish the righteous is not good,
Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.

^27 (U)He who has knowledge spares his words,
And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.
^28 (V)Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace;
When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.

^4 (A)Do not overwork to be rich;
^(B)Because of your own understanding, cease!
^5 [a]Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

⁶ Do not eat the bread of ^(C)a^[b] miser,
Nor desire his delicacies;
⁷ For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” ^(D)he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
⁸ The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
And waste your pleasant words.

^9 (E)Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰ Do not remove the ancient ^[c]landmark,
Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
^11 (F)For their Redeemer is mighty;
He will plead their cause against you.

¹² Apply your heart to instruction,
And your ears to words of knowledge.

^13 (G)Do not withhold correction from a child,
For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
¹⁴ You shall beat him with a rod,
And deliver his soul from ^[d]hell.

¹⁵ My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
¹⁶ Yes, my ^[e]inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.

^17 (H)Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But ^(I)be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day;
^18 (J)For surely there is a ^[f]hereafter,
And your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹ Hear, my son, and be wise;
And guide your heart in the way.
^20 (K)Do not mix with winebibbers,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
²¹ For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

^22 (L)Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.

^23 (M)Buy the truth, and do not sell it,
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

^24 (N)The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
²⁵ Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who bore you rejoice.

²⁶ My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways.
^27 (O)For a harlot is a deep pit,
And a seductress is a narrow well.
^28 (P)She also lies in wait as for a victim,
And increases the unfaithful among men.

^29 (Q)Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who ^(R)has redness of eyes?
^30 (S)Those who linger long at the wine,
Those who go in search of ^(T)mixed wine.
³¹ Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it ^[g]swirls around smoothly;
³² At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
³³ Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
³⁴ Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the ^[h]midst of the sea,
Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
³⁵ “They^(U) have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall ^(V)I awake, that I may seek another drink?”