1. Those who show compassionwill lend to a neighbor,and those who lend a helping handkeep the commandments.
2. Lend to neighbors in their time of need,and pay your neighbor back againon time.
3. Keep your word,and be trustworthy in your dealings,and you will find what you needevery time.
4. Many think of a loan as a windfall,and they have caused troublefor those who have helped them.
5. Until they receive the loan,they will kiss the hands of thosewho can help,and they will speak with deferenceabout their neighbor’s money,but when it’s time for repayment,they will put it off,offer weak excuses,and say it is a bad time.
6. If they can repay, their creditorswill barely recover half the amount,and the creditors will considerthat much a windfall;but if they can’t pay,they have defrauded their creditorsof their money,and they have made enemiesout of them needlessly.They will repay their creditorswith curses and insults,and they will repay them with dishonorrather than glory.
7. Many have refused to make a loan,not because they were viciousbut because they were cautiousabout being needlessly cheated.
8. Even so, be patient with thosein humble circumstances,and don’t make them wait for assistance.
9. Help the needy for thecommandment’s sake,and in proportion to their needdon’t turn them away empty-handed.
10. Part with silver for a relative’sor friend’s sake,and don’t let it corrode under a stoneand be destroyed.
11. Invest your treasureaccording to the commandmentsof the Most High,and it will profit you more than gold.
12. Store up acts of charity in your treasuries,and it will deliver youfrom every distress.
13. More than a sturdy shieldand more than a hefty spear,it will fight for you against an enemy.
14. Good people will guarantee a loanfor neighbors,and those who have lost anysense of shame will abandon them.
15. Don’t forget the kindness of thosewho have guaranteed a loan,since they gave their lifeon your behalf.
16. Sinners will ruintheir guarantor’s property,
17. and ungrateful personsintentionally abandon their rescuers.
18. Guaranteeing a loanhas ruined many prosperous peopleand tossed them aboutlike a wave on the sea.It has led to the exile of the powerful,and they have wanderedamong foreign nations.
19. Sinners will fall into guaranteeing loans,and when they chase profits,they will fall into lawsuits.
20. Help your neighbor as much as you can,but keep yourself from ruin.
21. Life’s foundations are water,bread, clothing,and a house for ensuring privacy.
22. Better is the life of the poorunder a shelter of raftersthan magnificent foodin foreign countries.
23. Be content with a little or a lot,and you will never be put downfor being a sojourner.
24. Going from house to houseis a miserable life,and wherever you are an immigrant,don’t open your mouth.
25. You will entertain and provide drinkwithout thanks,and you will hear bitter wordssuch as these:
26. "Come here, foreigner, prepare a table;and if there’s something in your hand,feed it to me.
27. Go away, foreigner,I have a reputable guest;my brother has come to visit,and I need the house."
28. These are difficult thingsfor a person of intelligence:criticism for being an immigrantand rebuke from a moneylender.