| 1 No evil will befall the man who fears the Lord, but in trial he will deliver him again and again. | |
| 2 A wise man will not hate the law, but he who is hypocritical about it is like a boat in a storm. | |
| 3 A man of understanding will trust in the law; for him the law is as dependable as an inquiry by means of Urim. | |
| 4 Prepare what to say, and thus you will be heard; bind together your instruction, and make your answer. | |
| 5 The heart of a fool is like a cart wheel, and his thoughts like a turning axle. | |
| 6 A stallion is like a mocking friend; he neighs under every one who sits on him. | |
| 7 Why is any day better than another, when all the daylight in the year is from the sun? | |
| 8 By the Lord's decision they were distinguished, and he appointed the different seasons and feasts; | |
| 9 some of them he exalted and hallowed, and some of them he made ordinary days. | |
| 10 All men are from the ground, and Adam was created of the dust. | |
| 11 In the fulness of his knowledge the Lord distinguished them and appointed their different ways; | |
| 12 some of them he blessed and exalted, and some of them he made holy and brought near to himself; but some of them he cursed and brought low, and he turned them out of their place. | |
| 13 As clay in the hand of the potter-- for all his ways are as he pleases-- so men are in the hand of him who made them, to give them as he decides. | |
| 14 Good is the opposite of evil, and life the opposite of death; so the sinner is the opposite of the godly. | |
| 15 Look upon all the works of the Most High; they likewise are in pairs, one the opposite of the other. | |
| 16 I was the last on watch; I was like one who gleans after the grape-gatherers; by the blessing of the Lord I excelled, and like a grape-gatherer I filled my wine press. | |
| 17 Consider that I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek instruction. | |
| 18 Hear me, you who are great among the people, and you leaders of the congregation, hearken. | |
| 19 To son or wife, to brother or friend, do not give power over yourself, as long as you live; and do not give your property to another, lest you change your mind and must ask for it. | |
| 20 While you are still alive and have breath in you, do not let any one take your place. | |
| 21 For it is better that your children should ask from you than that you should look to the hand of you sons. | |
| 22 Excel in all that you do; bring no stain upon your honor. | |
| 23 At the time when you end the days of your life, in the hour of death, distribute your inheritance. | |
| 24 Fodder and a stick and burdens for an ass; bread and discipline and work for a servant. | |
| 25 Set your slave to work, and you will find rest; leave his hands idle, and he will seek liberty. | |
| 26 Yoke and thong will bow the neck, and for a wicked servant there are racks and tortures. | |
| 27 Put him to work, that he may not be idle, for idleness teaches much evil. | |
| 28 Set him to work, as is fitting for him, and if he does not obey, make his fetters heavy. | |
| 29 Do not act immoderately toward anybody, and do nothing without discretion. | |
| 30 If you have a servant, let him be as yourself, because you have bought him with blood. | |
| 31 If you have a servant, treat him as a brother, for as your own soul you will need him. If you ill-treat him, and he leaves and runs away, which way will you go to seek him? | |