22A slothful man is compared to a stone that is defiled;

And every one will hiss him out in his disgrace.

2 A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill:

Every man that takes it up will shake out his hand.

3 A father has shame in having begotten an uninstructed son;

And a foolish daughter is born to his loss.

4 A prudent daughter will inherit a husband of her own;

And she that brings shame is the grief of her father.

5 She that is bold brings shame upon father and husband;

And she will be despised of them both.

6 Unseasonable discourse is as music in mourning;

But stripes and correction are wisdom at every season.

7 He that teaches a fool is as one that glues a potsherd together;

Even as one that wakes a sleeper out of a deep sleep.

8 He who teaches a fool is as one who teaches a man who slumbers;

And at the end he will say, What is it? 9-10 1

11 Weep for the dead, for light has failed him;

And weep for a fool, for understanding has failed him:

Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he has found rest;

But the life of the fool is worse than death.

12 Seven days are the days of mourning for the dead;

But for a fool and an ungodly man, all the days of his life.

13 Talk not much with a foolish man,

And go not to one that has no understanding:

Beware of him, lest you have trouble;

And so you shall not be 2 defiled in his onslaught:

Turn away from him, and you will find rest;

And so you shall not be wearied in his madness.

14 What shall be heavier than lead?

And what is the name thereof, but a fool?

15 Sand, and salt, and a mass of iron, is easier to bear,

Than a man without understanding.

16 Timber girded and bound into a building will not be released with shaking:

So a heart established in due season on well advised counsel will not be afraid.

17 A heart settled upon a thoughtful understanding

Is as an ornament of plaster on a polished wall.

18 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.

19 He that pricks the eye will make tears to fall;

And he that pricks the heart makes it to show feeling.

20 Whoso casts a stone at birds frays them away;

And he that upbraids a friend will dissolve friendship.

21 If you have drawn a sword against a friend, despair not;

For there may be a returning.

22 If you have opened your 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.

23 Gain trust with your neighbor in his poverty,

That in his prosperity you may have gladness:

Stay steadfast to him in the time of his affliction,

That you may be heir with him in his inheritance. 3

24 Before fire is the vapor and smoke of a furnace;

So revilings before bloodshed.

25 I will not be ashamed to shelter a friend;

And I will not hide myself from his face:

26 And if any evil happen to me because of him,

Every one that hears it will beware of him.

27 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?