| 1 El que toca la pez se mancha, | el que se junta a un soberbio acabará siendo como él. | 1 Whoever touches pitch will be defiled, and whoever associates with a proud man will become like him. |
| 2 No cargues un peso superior a tus fuerzas, | ni te juntes a uno más fuerte y rico que tú. | ¿Cómo se puede juntar el cántaro con la olla? | Chocará con ella y se romperá. | 2 Do not lift a weight beyond your strength, nor associate with a man mightier and richer than you. How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle? The pot will strike against it, and will itself be broken. |
| 3 El rico ofende y encima se irrita, | el pobre es ofendido y encima se excusa. | 3 A rich man does wrong, and he even adds reproaches; a poor man suffers wrong, and he must add apologies. |
| 4 Si le eres útil, te utilizará, | y si eres torpe, te abandonará. | 4 A rich man will exploit you if you can be of use to him, but if you are in need he will forsake you. |
| 5 Si tienes bienes, se asociará contigo | y te despojará sin que le duela. | 5 If you own something, he will live with you; he will drain your resources and he will not care. |
| 6 Si te necesita, te engañará, | te sonreirá y te dará esperanzas; | te hablará amablemente | y dirá: «¿Qué necesitas?». | 6 When he needs you he will deceive you, he will smile at you and give you hope. He will speak to you kindly and say, "What do you need?" |
| 7 Te avergonzará en sus banquetes, | te despojará dos o tres veces | y acabará burlándose de ti. | Y después, si te ve, te evitará | y meneará la cabeza mofándose de ti. | 7 He will shame you with his foods, until he has drained you two or three times; and finally he will deride you. Should he see you afterwards, he will forsake you, and shake his head at you. |
| 8 Procura que no te engañen, | que no te humillen por tu insensatez. | 8 Take care not to be led astray, and not to be humiliated in your feasting. |
| 9 Si te invita un poderoso, mantente a distancia, | así te llamará con mayor insistencia. | 9 When a powerful man invites you, be reserved; and he will invite you the more often. |
| 10 No te adelantes, no sea que te rechace, | ni te quedes muy lejos, no sea que te olvide. | 10 Do not push forward, lest you be repulsed; and do not remain at a distance, lest you be forgotten. |
| 11 No pretendas hablar con él de igual a igual, | ni te fíes de sus muchas palabras, | pues con su palabrería te pondrá a prueba | y sonriendo te examinará. | 11 Do not try to treat him as an equal, nor trust his abundance of words; for he will test you through much talk, and while he smiles he will be examining you. |
| 12 Es un despiadado que no guarda sus palabras | y no te ahorrará ni golpes ni cadenas. | 12 Cruel is he who does not keep words to himself; he will not hesitate to injure or to imprison. |
| 13 Ten cuidado y pon mucha atención, | porque caminas junto a tu propia ruina. | 13 Keep words to yourself and be very watchful, for you are walking about with your own downfall. |
| 14 Si escuchas estas cosas en sueños, despierta; | ama al Señor durante toda tu vida | e invócalo para que te salve. | 14 . |
| 15 Todo animal ama a su semejante, | y todo hombre a su prójimo. | 15 Every creature loves its like, and every person his neighbor; |
| 16 Todo viviente se une con su especie, | y todo hombre se junta a su semejante. | 16 all living beings associate by species, and a man clings to one like himself. |
| 17 ¿Cómo puede convivir el lobo con el cordero? | Lo mismo ocurre con el pecador y el piadoso. | 17 What fellowship has a wolf with a lamb? No more has a sinner with a godly man. |
| 18 ¿Qué paz puede haber entre la hiena y el perro?, | y ¿qué paz puede haber entre el rico y el pobre? | 18 What peace is there between a hyena and a dog? And what peace between a rich man and a poor man? |
| 19 Los asnos salvajes son presa de los leones en el desierto, | así los pobres son presa de los ricos. | 19 Wild asses in the wilderness are the prey of lions; likewise the poor are pastures for the rich. |
| 20 El soberbio aborrece la humildad, | y así el rico aborrece al pobre. | 20 Humility is an abomination to a proud man; likewise a poor man is an abomination to a rich one. |
| 21 Cuando el rico se tambalea, sus amigos lo sostienen, | pero cuando el humilde cae, sus amigos lo rechazan. | 21 When a rich man totters, he is steadied by friends, but when a humble man falls, he is even pushed away by friends. |
| 22 Cuando el rico resbala, muchos lo sujetan, | y si dice estupideces, le dan la razón; | cuando el pobre resbala, se lo reprochan, | y si habla con sensatez, no le hacen caso. | 22 If a rich man slips, his helpers are many; he speaks unseemly words, and they justify him. If a humble man slips, they even reproach him; he speaks sensibly, and receives no attention. |
| 23 Habla el rico y todos callan, | y ponen sus palabras por las nubes. | Habla el pobre y dicen: «¿Quién es este?». | Y si tropieza, lo ayudan a caer. | 23 When the rich man speaks all are silent, and they extol to the clouds what he says. When the poor man speaks they say, "Who is this fellow?" And should he stumble, they even push him down. |
| 24 Buena es la riqueza adquirida sin pecado, | mala es la pobreza en boca del impío. | 24 Riches are good if they are free from sin, and poverty is evil in the opinion of the ungodly. |
| 25 El corazón de una persona cambia su rostro, | sea para bien, sea para mal. | 25 A man's heart changes his countenance, either for good or for evil. |
| 26 Un rostro alegre revela un buen corazón; | inventar proverbios es un ejercicio difícil. | 26 The mark of a happy heart is a cheerful face, but to devise proverbs requires painful thinking. |
