| 1 Any friend wil say, 'I am your friend too,' but some friends are friends only in name. |
| 2 Is it not a deadly sorrow when a comrade or a friend turns enemy? |
| 3 O evil inclination, why were you created, to cover the earth with deceit? |
| 4 One kind of comrade congratulates a friend in prosperity but in time of trouble appears on the otherside. |
| 5 One kind of comrade genuinely feels for a friend and when it comes to a fight, springs to arms. |
| 6 Do not forget the genuine friend, do not push him out of mind once you are rich. |
| 7 Any adviser wil offer advice, but some are governed by self-interest. |
| 8 Beware of someone who offers advice; first find out what he wants himself- since his advice coincideswith his own interest -- in case he has designs on you |
| 9 and tel s you, 'You are on the right road,' but stands wel clear to see what will happen to you. |
| 10 Do not consult anyone who looks at you askance, conceal your plans from people jealous of you. |
| 11 Do not consult a woman about her rival, or a coward about war, a merchant about prices, or a buyerabout sel ing, anyone mean about gratitude, or anyone selfish about kindness, a lazy fel ow about any sort ofwork, or a casual worker about finishing a job, an idle servant about a major undertaking -- do not rely on thesefor any advice. |
| 12 But have constant recourse to some devout person, whom you know to be a keeper of thecommandments, whose soul matches your own, and who, if you go wrong, wil be sympathetic. |
| 13 Finally, stick to the advice your own heart gives you, no one can be truer to you than that; |
| 14 since a person's soul often gives a clearer warning than seven watchmen perched on a watchtower. |
| 15 And besides all this beg the Most High to guide your steps into the truth. |
| 16 Reason should be the basis for every activity, reflection must come before any undertaking. |
| 17 Thoughts are rooted in the heart, and this sends out four branches: |
| 18 good and evil, life and death, and mistress of them always is the tongue. |
| 19 One kind of person is clever at teaching others, yet is no good whatever to himself; |
| 20 another, very eloquent, is detested and ends by starving to death, |
| 21 not having won the favour of the Lord, and being destitute of al wisdom. |
| 22 Another considers himself wise and proclaims his intel ectual conclusions as certainties. |
| 23 But the truly wise instructs his people and his intel ectual conclusions are certainties. |
| 24 The wise is showered with blessings, and al who see him wil cal him happy. |
| 25 Human life lasts a number of days, but the days of Israel are beyond counting. |
| 26 The wise wil earn confidence among the people, his name wil live for ever. |
| 27 During your life, my child, see what suits your constitution, do not give it what you find disagrees withit; |
| 28 for not everything is good for everybody, nor does everybody like everything. |
| 29 Do not be insatiable for any delicacy, do not be greedy for food, |
| 30 for over-eating leads to illness and excess leads to liver-attacks. |
| 31 Many people have died from over-eating; control yourself, and so prolong your life. |