1. A drunken workerwon’t become rich,and whoever neglects the little thingswill fail little by little.
2. Wine and womenwill mislead an intelligent person,and the one who has sex with prostitutes will become more reckless.
3. Decay and worms will possess him,and his reckless soul will be carried away.
4. Those who trust others too quicklyhave empty heads,and those who sin injure themselves.
5. Those who rejoice in wickednesswill be condemned.
6. And those who are reticent to speakdiminish wickedness.
7. Never repeat something that you’ve heard,and you will not lose anything.
8. Don’t report it to a friend or an enemy,and, as long as it wouldn’t be a sin for you, don’t reveal it.
9. People might hear you or observe you,and in time they will hate you.
10. Have you heard some word?Let it perish along with you.Have courage!It won’t make you burst.
11. Because of something spoken,a fool will suffer labor painslike those caused by a babyabout to be delivered.
12. Like an arrow stuck in a thigh,so is a word in the belly of a fool.
13. Question a friend;perhaps he didn’t do it.And if he did, question himso he doesn’t do it again.
14. Question a neighbor;perhaps she didn’t say it.And if she did say it,question her so that she doesn’t repeat it.
15. Question a friend, because it oftenturns out to be a false accusation.Don’t trust everything that is said.
16. There are those who slip,and it wasn’t intentional.Who hasn’t sinned with the tongue?
17. Question your neighborbefore issuing a threat,and give the Law of the Most Highits place.
20. Fearing the Lord is the whole of wisdom,and all wisdom involvesdoing the Law.
22. The knowledge of wickednessisn’t wisdom,and there is no prudencein the advice that sinners give.
23. There is a kind of clevernessthat is detestable,and there is a senseless personwho lacks wisdom.
24. Someone who fears Godbut who has inferior intelligenceis better than someonewho abounds in intelligencebut who violates the Law.
25. There is cleverness that is precisebut unjust,and there are people who abuse favorsin order to get a favorable decision.
26. And there are people who act wickedly, bowed down gloomily,and their insides are full of treachery.
27. They hide their faces,and they pretend they can’t hear;when you aren’t paying attention,they will outrun you.
28. If they are prevented from sinning,it’s because they lack the strength.If they find an occasion,they will do evil.
29. People are known by their appearance,and sensible people are recognizedin a face-to-face meeting.
30. A person’s clothing,their vigorous laughter,and the way they walkwill proclaim things about them.