1. Whoever touches tar will get dirty,and those who associate with the arrogant will become like them.
2. Don’t lift somethingthat’s too heavy for you,and don’t associate with peoplewho are more powerful and richthan you are.What does a clay pot have in commonwith a metal cauldron?The one will knock against the otherand be shattered.
3. Rich people inflict injury,but then act as if they’re the oneswho have been wronged;the poor suffer injury,but they’re the oneswho must apologize.
4. If you are useful to the rich,they will work with you,but if you are in need,they will abandon you.
5. If you own anything,they will live with you;they will exhaust what you have,and they won’t suffer.
6. If they need you, they will deceive youand smile at you and give you hope;they will speak nicely to you and say,"What do you need?"
7. They will embarrass youwith their fine foods,until they have cleaned you outtwo or three times over.In the end they will mock you,and after these things,they will see you and abandon youand shake their heads at you.
8. Take care that you don’t go astray,and don’t be humiliatedby your own foolishness.
9. When powerful people invite you,show yourself reluctant,and they will invite you all the more.
10. Don’t be forward,or you might be rejected;and don’t stand far off,or you might be forgotten.
11. Don’t think that you can speakwith them as an equal,and don’t trust in theirlengthy conversations,because they will test youwith a lot of talking;and when they are smiling, they are really examining you.
12. Those who won’t guard your secretsare cruel,and they won’t spare youfrom mistreatmentand imprisonment.
13. Be on guard and pay attention,because you are tiptoeingaround your own downfall.
15. All living creatures love what is like them,and all people their neighbors.
16. All beings gather togetherwith their own kind,and people cling to thosewho are like them.
17. What does a wolf have in commonwith a lamb?So sinners have nothing in commonwith the godly.
18. What peace is therebetween a hyena and a dog?And what peace is therebetween the rich and the poor?
19. Wild asses in the desert are prey for lions;so the poor are feeding groundsfor the rich.
20. The arrogant detest humility;so the rich detest the poor.
21. When rich people stumble,they are supported by friends.But when the humble fall,their own friends push them away.
22. When the rich slip,their helpers are many;they speak things that shouldn’t be spoken, and people justify them.The humble slip,and people criticize them as well;they utter something sensible,and no one pays attention.
23. The rich speak, and everyone is silent,and what they say is praisedto the heavens.The poor speak, and they say,"Who is this?"And if the poor stumble,others push them down all the more.
24. Wealth is good as long as it’s free of sin;the ungodly speak of povertyas an evil in and of itself.
25. A person’s heart changes the disposition,whether for good or for ill.
26. A cheerful face indicatesa heart full of good;coming up with proverbs requires conversation along with hard work.