1Better [is] a dry morsel, and rest with it, Than a house full of the sacrifices of strife.2A wise servant rules over a son causing shame, And he apportions an inheritance in the midst of brothers.3A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And the trier of hearts [is] YHWH.4An evildoer is attentive to lips of vanity, Falsehood is giving ear to a mischievous tongue.5Whoever is mocking at the poor Has reproached his Maker, Whoever is rejoicing at calamity is not acquitted.6Sons’ sons [are] the crown of old men, And the glory of sons [are] their fathers.7A lip of excellence is not fitting for a fool, much less a lip of falsehood for a noble.8A stone of grace [is] the bribe in the eyes of its possessors, Wherever it turns, it prospers.9Whoever is covering transgression is seeking love, And whoever is repeating a matter Is separating a familiar friend.10Rebuke comes down on the intelligent More than one hundred stripes on a fool.11An evil man seeks only rebellion, And a fierce messenger is sent against him.12The meeting of a bereaved bear by a man, And—not a fool in his folly.13Whoever is returning evil for good, Evil does not move from his house.14The beginning of contention [is] a letting out of waters, And leave the strife before it is meddled with.15Whoever is justifying the wicked, And condemning the righteous, Even both of these [are] an abomination to YHWH.16Why [is] this—a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, And a heart—there is none?17The friend is loving at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.18A man lacking heart is striking hands, He becomes a guarantor before his friend.19Whoever is loving transgression is loving debate, Whoever is making his entrance high is seeking destruction.20The perverse of heart does not find good, And the [one] turned in his tongue falls into evil.21Whoever is begetting a fool has affliction for it, Indeed, the father of a fool does not rejoice.22A rejoicing heart does good to the body, And a struck spirit dries the bone.23The wicked takes a bribe from the bosom, To turn aside the paths of judgment.24The face of the intelligent [is] to wisdom, And the eyes of a fool—at the end of the earth.25A foolish son [is] a provocation to his father, And bitterness to her bearing him.26Also, [it] is not good to fine the righteous, To strike nobles for uprightness.27One acquainted with knowledge is sparing his words, And the cool of temper [is] a man of understanding.28Even a fool keeping silence is reckoned wise, He who is shutting his lips [seems] intelligent!
