Part 5
There is that is hindered from sinning through want; and when he taketh rest, he shall not be troubled.
There is that destroyeth his soul through bashfulness; and by a foolish countenance he will destroy it.
There is that for bashfulness promiseth to his friend; and he maketh him his enemy for nothing.
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A lie is a foul blot in a man: it will be continually in the mouth of the ignorant.
A thief is better than a man that is continually lying; but they both shall inherit destruction.
The disposition of a liar is dishonour; and his shame is with him continually.
He that is wise in words shall advance himself; and one that is prudent will please great men.
He that tilleth his land shall raise his heap high; and he that pleaseth great men shall get pardon for iniquity.
Presents and gifts blind the eyes of the wise, and as a muzzle on the mouth, turn away reproofs.
Wisdom that is hid, and treasure that is out of sight, what profit is in them both?
Better is a man that hideth his folly than a man that hideth his wisdom.
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=22= A slothful man is compared to a stone that is defiled; and every one will hiss him out in his disgrace.
A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill: every man that taketh it up will shake out his hand.
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A father hath shame in having begotten an uninstructed son; and a foolish daughter is born to his loss.
A prudent daughter shall inherit a husband of her own; and she that bringeth shame is the grief of him that begat her.
She that is bold bringeth shame upon father and husband; and she shall be despised of them both.
Unseasonable discourse is as music in mourning; but stripes and correction are wisdom at every season.
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He that teacheth a fool is as one that glueth a potsherd together; even as one that waketh a sleeper out of a deep sleep.
He that discourseth to a fool is as one discoursing to a man that slumbereth; and at the end he will say, What is it?
Weep for the dead, for light hath failed him; and weep for a fool, for understanding hath failed him; weep more sweetly for the dead, because he hath found rest; but the life of the fool is worse than death.
Seven days are the days of mourning for the dead; but for a fool and an ungodly man, all the days of his life.
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Talk not much with a foolish man, and go not to one that hath no understanding: beware of him, lest thou have trouble; and so thou shalt not be defiled in his onslaught: turn aside from him, and thou shalt find rest; and so thou shalt not be wearied in his madness.
What shall be heavier than lead? And what is the name thereof, but a fool?
Sand, and salt, and a mass of iron, is easier to bear, than a man without understanding.
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Timber girt and bound into a building shall not be loosed with shaking: so a heart established in due season on well advised counsel shall not be afraid.
A heart settled upon a thoughtful understanding is as an ornament of plaister on a polished wall.
Pales set on a high place will not stand against the wind: so a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool will not stand against any fear.
He that pricketh the eye will make tears to fall; and he that pricketh the heart maketh it to shew feeling.
Whoso casteth a stone at birds frayeth them away: and he that upbraideth a friend will dissolve friendship.
If thou hast drawn a sword against a friend, despair not; for there may be a returning.
If thou hast opened thy mouth against a friend, fear not; for there may be a reconciling; except it be for upbraiding, and arrogance, and disclosing of a secret, and a treacherous blow: for these things every friend will flee.
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Gain trust with thy neighbour in his poverty, that in his prosperity thou mayest have gladness: abide stedfast unto him in the time of his affliction, that thou mayest be heir with him in his inheritance.
Before fire is the vapour and smoke of a furnace; so revilings before bloodshed.
I will not be ashamed to shelter a friend; and I will not hide myself from his face:
And if any evil happen unto me because of him, every one that heareth it will beware of him.
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Who shall set a watch over my mouth, and a seal of shrewdness upon my lips, that I fall not from it, and that my tongue destroy me not?
=23= O Lord, Father and Master of my life, abandon me not to their counsel; suffer me not to fall by them.
Who will set scourges over my thought, and a discipline of wisdom over mine heart? That they spare me not for mine ignorances, and my heart pass not by their sins:
That mine ignorances be not multiplied, and my sins abound not; and I shall fall before mine adversaries, and mine enemy rejoice over me.
O Lord, Father and God of my life, give me not a proud look,
And turn away concupiscence from me.
Let not greediness and chambering overtake me; and give me not over to a shameless mind.
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Hear ye, my children, the discipline of the mouth; and he that keepeth it shall not be taken.
The sinner shall be overtaken in his lips; and the reviler and the proud man shall stumble therein.
Accustom not thy mouth to an oath; and be not accustomed to the naming of the Holy One.
For as a servant that is continually scourged shall not lack a bruise, so he also that sweareth and nameth God continually shall not be cleansed from sin.
A man of many oaths shall be filled with iniquity; and the scourge shall not depart from his house: if he shall offend, his sin shall be upon him; and if he disregard it, he hath sinned doubly; and if he hath sworn in vain, he shall not be justified; for his house shall be filled with calamities.
There is a manner of speech that is clothed about with death: let it not be found in the heritage of Jacob; for all these things shall be far from the godly, and they shall not wallow in sins.
Accustom not thy mouth to gross rudeness, for therein is the word of sin.
Remember thy father and thy mother, for thou sittest in the midst of great men; that thou be not forgetful before them, and become a fool by thy custom; so shalt thou wish that thou hadst not been born, and curse the day of thy nativity.
A man that is accustomed to words of reproach will not be corrected all the days of his life.
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Two sorts of men multiply sins, and the third will bring wrath: a hot mind, as a burning fire, will not be quenched till it be consumed: a fornicator in the body of his flesh will never cease till he hath burned out the fire.
All bread is sweet to a fornicator: he will not leave off till he die.
A man that goeth astray from his own bed, saying in his heart, Who seeth me? darkness is round about me, and the walls hide me, and no man seeth me; of whom am I afraid? the Most High will not remember my sins;
--And the eyes of men are his terror, and he knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun, beholding all the ways of men, and looking into secret places.
All things were known unto him or ever they were created; and in like manner also after they were perfected.
This man shall be punished in the streets of the city; and where he suspected not he shall be taken.
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=24= Wisdom shall praise herself, and shall glory in the midst of her people.
In the congregation of the Most High shall she open her mouth, and glory in the presence of his power.
I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth as a mist.
I dwelt in high places, and my throne is in the pillar of the cloud.
Alone I compassed the circuit of heaven, and walked in the depth of the abyss.
In the waves of the sea, and in all the earth, and in every people and nation, I got a possession.
With all these I sought rest; and in whose inheritance shall I lodge?
Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment; and he that created me made my tabernacle to rest, and said, Let thy tabernacle be in Jacob, and thine inheritance in Israel.
He created me from the beginning before the world; and to the end I shall not fail.
In the holy tabernacle I ministered before him; and so was I established in Sion.
In the beloved city likewise he gave me rest; and in Jerusalem was my authority.
And I took root in a people that was glorified, even in the portion of the Lord’s own inheritance.
I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on the mountains of Hermon.
I was exalted like a palm tree on the sea shore, and as rose plants in Jericho, and as a fair olive tree in the plain; and I was exalted as a plane tree.
As cinnamon and aspalathus, I have given a scent of perfumes; and as choice myrrh, I spread abroad a pleasant odour; as galbanum, and onyx, and stacte, and as the fume of frankincense in the tabernacle.
As the terebinth I stretched out my branches; and my branches are branches of glory and grace.
As the vine I put forth grace; and my flowers are the fruit of glory and riches.
Come unto me, ye that are desirous of me, and be filled with my produce.
For my memorial is sweeter than honey, and mine inheritance than the honeycomb.
They that eat me shall yet be hungry; and they that drink me shall yet be thirsty.
He that obeyeth me shall not be ashamed; and they that work in me shall not do amiss.
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All these things are the book of the covenant of the Most High God, even the law which Moses commanded us for a heritage unto the assemblies of Jacob.
It is he that maketh wisdom abundant, as Pishon, and as Tigris in the days of new fruits;
That maketh understanding full as Euphrates, and as Jordan in the days of harvest;
That maketh instruction to shine forth as the light, as Gihon in the days of vintage.
The first man knew her not perfectly; and in like manner the last hath not traced her out.
For her thoughts are filled from the sea, and her counsels from the great deep.
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And I came out as a stream from a river, and as a conduit into a garden.
I said, I will water my garden, and will water abundantly my garden bed; and, lo, my stream became a river, and my river became a sea.
I will yet bring instruction to light as the morning, and will make these things to shine forth afar off.
I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, and leave it unto generations of ages.
Behold that I have not laboured for myself only, but for all them that diligently seek her.
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=25= In three things I was beautified, and stood up beautiful before the Lord and men: the concord of brethren, and friendship of neighbours, and a woman and her husband that walk together in agreement.
But three sorts of men my soul hateth, and I am greatly offended at their life: a poor man that is haughty, and a rich man that is a liar, and an old man that is an adulterer lacking understanding.
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In thy youth thou hast not gathered, and how shouldest thou find in thine old age?
How beautiful a thing is judgement for gray hairs, and for elders to know counsel!
How beautiful is the wisdom of old men, and thought and counsel to men that are in honour!
Much experience is the crown of old men; and their glorying is the fear of the Lord.
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There be nine things that I have thought of, and in mine heart counted happy; and the tenth I will utter with my tongue: a man that hath joy of his children; a man that liveth and looketh upon the fall of his enemies:
Happy is he that dwelleth with a wife of understanding; and he that hath not slipped with his tongue; and he that hath not served a man that is unworthy of him:
Happy is he that hath found prudence; and he that discourseth in the ears of them that listen.
How great is he that hath found wisdom! yet is there none above him that feareth the Lord.
The fear of the Lord passeth all things: he that holdeth it, to whom shall he be likened?
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Give me any plague but the plague of the heart; and any wickedness but the wickedness of a woman;
Any calamity, but a calamity from them that hate me; and any vengeance, but the vengeance of enemies.
There is no head above the head of a serpent; and there is no wrath above the wrath of an enemy.
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I will rather dwell with a lion and a dragon, than keep house with a wicked woman.
The wickedness of a woman changeth her look, and darkeneth her countenance as a bear doth.
Her husband shall sit at meat among his neighbours, and when he heareth it he sigheth bitterly.
All malice is but little to the malice of a woman: let the portion of a sinner fall on her.
As the going up a sandy way is to the feet of the aged, so is a wife full of words to a quiet man.
Throw not thyself upon the beauty of a woman; and desire not a woman for her beauty.
There is anger, and impudence, and great reproach, if a woman maintain her husband.
A wicked woman is abasement of heart, and sadness of countenance, and a wounded heart: a woman that will not make her husband happy is as hands that hang down, and palsied knees.
From a woman was the beginning of sin; and because of her we all die.
Give not water an outlet; neither to a wicked woman freedom of speech.
If she go not as thou wouldest have her, cut her off from thy flesh.
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=26= Happy is the husband of a good wife; and the number of his days shall be twofold.
A brave woman rejoiceth her husband; and he shall fulfil his years in peace.
A good wife is a good portion: she shall be given in the portion of such as fear the Lord.
Whether a man be rich or poor, a good heart maketh at all times a cheerful countenance.
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Of three things my heart was afraid; and concerning the fourth kind I made supplication: the slander of a city, and the assembly of a multitude, and a false accusation: all these are more grievous than death.
A grief of heart and sorrow is a woman that is jealous of another woman, and the scourge of a tongue communicating to all.
A wicked woman is as a yoke of oxen shaken to and fro: he that taketh hold of her is as one that graspeth a scorpion.
A drunken woman causeth great wrath; and she will not cover her own shame.
The whoredom of a woman is in the lifting up of her eyes; and it shall be known by her eyelids.
Keep strict watch on a headstrong daughter, lest she find liberty for herself, and use it.
Look well after an impudent eye; and marvel not if it trespass against thee.
She will open her mouth, as a thirsty traveller, and drink of every water that is near: at every post will she sit down, and open her quiver against any arrow.
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The grace of a wife will delight her husband; and her knowledge will fatten his bones.
A silent woman is a gift of the Lord; and there is nothing so much worth as a well-instructed soul.
A shamefast woman is grace upon grace; and there is no price worthy of a continent soul.
As the sun when it ariseth in the highest places of the Lord, so is the beauty of a good wife in the ordering of a man’s house.
As the lamp that shineth upon the holy candlestick, so is the beauty of the face in ripe age.
As the golden pillars are upon a base of silver, so are beautiful feet with the breasts of one that is stedfast.
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For two things my heart is grieved; and for the third anger cometh upon me: a man of war that suffereth for poverty; and men of understanding that are counted as refuse: one that turneth back from righteousness to sin; the Lord shall prepare him for the sword.
A merchant shall hardly keep himself from wrong doing; and a huckster shall not be acquitted of sin.
=27= Many have sinned for a thing indifferent; and he that seeketh to multiply gain will turn his eye away.
A nail will stick fast between the joinings of stones; and sin will thrust itself in between buying and selling.
Unless a man hold on diligently in the fear of the Lord, his house shall soon be overthrown.
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In the shaking of a sieve, the refuse remaineth; so the filth of man in his reasoning.
The furnace will prove the potter’s vessels; and the trial of a man is in his reasoning.
The fruit of a tree declareth the husbandry thereof; so is the utterance of the thought of the heart of a man.
Praise no man before thou hearest him reason; for this is the trial of men.
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If thou followest righteousness, thou shalt obtain her, and put her on, as a long robe of glory.
Birds will resort unto their like; and truth will return unto them that practise her.
The lion lieth in wait for prey; so doth sin for them that work iniquity.
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The discourse of a godly man is always wisdom: but the foolish man changeth as the moon.
Among men void of understanding observe the opportunity; but stay continually among the thoughtful.
The discourse of fools is an offence; and their laughter is in the wantonness of sin.
The talk of a man of many oaths will make the hair stand upright; and their strife maketh one stop his ears.
The strife of the proud is a shedding of blood; and their reviling of each other is a grievous thing to hear.
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He that revealeth secrets destroyeth credit, and shall not find a friend to his mind.
Love a friend, and keep faith with him; but if thou reveal his secrets, thou shalt not pursue after him;
For as a man hath destroyed his enemy, so hast thou destroyed the friendship of thy neighbour.
And as a bird which thou hast loosed out of thy hand, so hast thou let thy neighbour go, and thou wilt not catch him again:
Pursue him not, for he is gone far away, and hath escaped as a gazelle out of the snare.
For a wound may be bound up, and after reviling there may be a reconcilement; but he that revealeth secrets hath lost hope.
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One that winketh with the eye contriveth evil things; and no man will remove him from it.
When thou art present, he will speak sweetly, and will admire thy words; but afterward he will writhe his mouth, and set a trap for thee in thy words.
I have hated many things, but nothing like him; and the Lord will hate him.
One that casteth a stone on high casteth it on his own head; and a deceitful stroke will open wounds.
He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and he that setteth a snare shall be taken therein.
He that doeth evil things, they shall roll upon him, and he shall not know whence they have come to him.
Mockery and reproach are from the haughty; and vengeance, as a lion, shall lie in wait for him.
They that rejoice at the fall of the godly shall be taken in a snare; and anguish shall consume them before they die.
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Wrath and anger, these also are abominations; and a sinful man shall possess them.
=28= He that taketh vengeance shall find vengeance from the Lord; and he will surely make firm his sins.
Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done thee; and then thy sins shall be pardoned when thou prayest.
Man cherisheth anger against man; and doth he seek healing from the Lord?
Upon a man like himself he hath no mercy; and doth he make supplication for his own sins?
He being himself flesh nourisheth wrath: who shall make atonement for his sins?
Remember thy last end, and cease from enmity: remember corruption and death, and abide in the commandments.
Remember the commandments, and be not wroth with thy neighbour; and remember the covenant of the Highest, and wink at ignorance.
Abstain from strife, and thou shalt diminish thy sins; for a passionate man will kindle strife;
And a man that is a sinner will trouble friends, and will make debate among them that be at peace.
As is the fuel of the fire, so will it burn; and as the stoutness of the strife is, so will it burn: as is the strength of the man, so will be his wrath; and as is his wealth, so will he exalt his anger.
A contention begun in haste kindleth a fire; and a hasty fighting sheddeth blood.
If thou blow a spark, it shall burn; and if thou spit upon it, it shall be quenched: and both these shall come out of thy mouth.
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Curse the whisperer and double-tongued: for he hath destroyed many that were at peace.
A third person’s tongue hath shaken many, and dispersed them from nation to nation; and it hath pulled down strong cities, and overthrown the houses of great men.
A third person’s tongue hath cast out brave women, and deprived them of their labours.
He that hearkeneth unto it shall not find rest, nor shall he dwell quietly.
The stroke of a whip maketh a mark in the flesh; but the stroke of a tongue will break bones.
Many have fallen by the edge of the sword: yet not so many as they that have fallen because of the tongue.
Happy is he that is sheltered from it, that hath not passed through the wrath thereof; that hath not drawn its yoke, and hath not been bound with its bands.
For the yoke thereof is a yoke of iron, and the bands thereof are bands of brass.
The death thereof is an evil death; and Hades were better than it.
It shall not have rule over godly men; and they shall not be burned in its flame.
They that forsake the Lord shall fall into it; and it shall burn among them, and shall not be quenched; it shall be sent forth upon them as a lion; and as a leopard it shall destroy them.
Look that thou hedge thy possession about with thorns; bind up thy silver and thy gold;
And make a balance and a weight for thy words; and make a door and a bar for thy mouth.
Take heed lest thou slip therein; lest thou fall before one that lieth in wait.
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=29= He that sheweth mercy will lend unto his neighbour; and he that strengtheneth him with his hand keepeth the commandments.
Lend to thy neighbour in time of his need; and pay thou thy neighbour again in due season.
Confirm thy word, and keep faith with him; and at all seasons thou shalt find what thou needest.
Many have reckoned a loan as a windfall, and have given trouble to those that helped them.
Till he hath received, he will kiss a man’s hands; and for his neighbour’s money he will speak submissly: and when payment is due, he will prolong the time, and return words of heaviness, and complain of the times.
If he prevail, he shall hardly receive the half; and he will count it as a windfall: if not, he hath deprived him of his money, and he hath gotten him for an enemy without cause: he will pay him with cursings and railings; and for honour he will pay him disgrace.
Many on account of men’s ill-dealing have turned away; they have feared to be defrauded for nought.
Howbeit with a man in poor estate be longsuffering; and let him not wait for thine alms.
Help a poor man for the commandment’s sake; and according to his need send him not empty away.
Lose thy money for a brother and a friend; and let it not rust under the stone to be lost.
Bestow thy treasure according to the commandments of the Most High; and it shall profit thee more than gold.
Shut up alms in thy store-chambers; and it shall deliver thee out of all affliction:
It shall fight for thee against thine enemy better than a mighty shield and a ponderous spear.
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A good man will be surety for his neighbour; and he that hath lost shame will fail him.
Forget not the good offices of thy surety; for he hath given his life for thee.
A sinner will overthrow the good estate of his surety;
And he that is of an unthankful mind will fail him that delivered him.