A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Wealth makes many friends, But the poor is separated from his friend.

Many entreat the favor of the nobility, And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.

All the brothers of the poor hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him.

He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend.

Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go,

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel.

Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It will be counted a curse to him.

As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

The Value of a Friend

Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.

The Bride Praises the Bridegroom

The Beloved

I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk.

(To His Friends)

Eat, O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones!

His mouth is most sweet, Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, And this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!

The Beloved and His Friends

Return, return, O Shulamite; Return, return, that we may look upon you!

The Shulamite

What would you see in the Shulamite— As it were, the dance of the two camps?

“But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.

Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish.”

And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” ’

For thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it. I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay them with the sword.

And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. You shall go to Babylon, and there you shall die, and be buried there, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied lies.’ ”

‘Now behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say: “Your close friends have set upon you And prevailed against you; Your feet have sunk in the mire, And they have turned away again.”

She weeps bitterly in the night, Her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers She has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies.

Daniel and His Friends Obey God

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

Daniel and His Friends Promoted

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him.

Daniel’s Friends Disobey the King

Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews.