1
Wine a is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
2
The 1 wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
3
b It is honorable for a man to stop striving,
Since any fool can start a quarrel.
4
c The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
d He will beg during harvest and have nothing.
5
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
6
Most men will proclaim each his own 2 goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?
7
e The righteous man walks in his integrity;
f His children are blessed after him.
8
A king who sits on the throne of judgment
Scatters all evil with his eyes.
9
g Who can say, "I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin"?
10
h Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.
11
Even a child is i known by his deeds,
Whether what he does is pure and right.
12
j The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The LORD has made them both.
13
k Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.
14
" It is 3 good for nothing," cries the buyer;
But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.
15
There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
But l the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16
m Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
17
n Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18
o Plans are established by counsel;
p By wise counsel wage war.
19
q He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with one r who flatters with his lips.
20
s Whoever curses his father or his mother,
t His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.
21
u An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning
v Will not be blessed at the end.
22
w Do not say, "I will 4 recompense evil";
x Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.
23
Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD,
And dishonest scales are not good.
24
A man's steps are of the LORD;
How then can a man understand his own way?
25
It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
And afterward to reconsider his vows.
26
y A wise king sifts out the wicked,
And brings the threshing wheel over them.
27
z The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
Searching all the 5 inner depths of his heart.
28
a Mercy and truth preserve the king,
And by 6 lovingkindness he upholds his throne.
29
The glory of young men is their strength,
And b the splendor of old men is their gray head.
30
Blows that hurt cleanse away evil,
As do stripes the 7 inner depths of the heart.