4. The wise heart is in the house that mourns,but the foolish heart is in the house that rejoices.
5. It is better to obey the reprimand of the wisethan to listen to the song of fools,
6. because the fool’s merrimentis like nettles crackling under a kettle.That too is pointless.
7. Oppression turns the wise into fools;a bribe corrupts the heart.
8. The end of something is better than its beginning.Patience is better than arrogance.
9. Don’t be too quick to get angrybecause anger lives in the fool’s heart.
10. Don’t ask, "How is it that the former days were better than these?"because it isn’t wise to ask this.
11. Wisdom is as good as an inheritance—an advantage for those who see the sun.
12. Wisdom’s protection is like the protection of money;the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
13. Consider God’s work! Who can straighten what God has made crooked?
14. When times are good, enjoy the good; when times are bad, consider: God has made the former as well as the latter so that people can’t discover anything that will come to be after them.
15. I have seen everything in my pointless lifetime: the righteous person may die in spite of their righteousness; then again, the wicked may live long in spite of their wickedness.
16. Don’t be too righteous or too wise, or you may be dumbfounded.
17. Don’t be too wicked and don’t be a fool, or you may die before your time.