| 1 For the sake of profit many sin, and the struggle for wealth blinds the eyes. |
| 2 Like a peg driven between fitted stones, between buying and selling sin is wedged in. |
| 3 Unless you earnestly hold fast to the fear of the LORD, suddenly your house will be thrown down. |
| 4 When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do a man's faults when he speaks. |
| 5 As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in his conversation is the test of a man. |
| 6 The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does a man's speech disclose the bent of his mind. |
| 7 Praise no man before he speaks, for it is then that men are tested. |
| 8 If you strive after justice you will attain it, and put it on like a splendid robe. |
| 9 Birds nest with their own kind, and fidelity comes to those who live by it. |
| 10 As a lion crouches in wait for prey, so do sins for evildoers. |
| 11 Ever wise are the discourses of the devout, but the godless man, like the moon, is inconstant. |
| 12 Limit the time you spend among fools, but frequent the company of thoughtful men. |
| 13 The conversation of the wicked is offensive, their laughter is wanton guilt. |
| 14 Their oath-filled talk makes the hair stand on end, their brawls make one stop one's ears. |
| 15 Wrangling among the haughty ends in bloodshed, their cursing is painful to hear. |
| 16 He who betrays a secret cannot be trusted, he will never find an intimate friend. |
| 17 Cherish your friend, keep faith with him; but if you betray his confidence, follow him not; |
| 18 For as an enemy might kill a man, you have killed your neighbor's friendship. |
| 19 Like a bird released from the hand, you have let your friend go and cannot recapture him; |
| 20 Follow him not, for he is far away, he has fled like a gazelle from the trap. |
| 21 A wound can be bound up, and an insult forgiven, but he who betrays secrets does hopeless damage. |
| 22 He who has shifty eyes plots mischief and no one can ward him off; |
| 23 In your presence he uses honeyed talk, and admires your every word, But later he changes his tone and twists your words to your ruin. |
| 24 There is nothing that I hate so much, and the LORD hates him as well. |
| 25 As a stone falls back on him who throws it up, so a blow struck in treachery injures more than one. |
| 26 As he who digs a pit falls into it, and he who lays a snare is caught in it, |
| 27 Whoever does harm will be involved in it without knowing how it came upon him. |
| 28 Mockery and abuse will be the lot of the proud, and vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion. |
| 29 The trap seizes those who rejoice in pitfalls, and pain will consume them before they die; |
| 30 Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. |