12. others think they are perfect,but they are stained by sin.
13. Some people are stuck-upand act like snobs;
14. others are so greedythat they gobble upthe poor and homeless.
15. Greed has twins,each named “Give me!”There are three or four thingsthat are never satisfied:
16. the world of the deadand a childless wife,the thirsty earthand a flaming fire.
17. Don't make fun of your fatheror disobey your mother—crows will peck out your eyes,and vultures will eatthe rest of you.
18. There are three or four thingsI cannot understand:
19. how eagles fly so highor snakes crawl on rocks,how ships sail the oceanor people fall in love.
20. An unfaithful wife says,“Sleeping with another manis as natural as eating.”
21. There are three or four thingsthat make the earth trembleand are unbearable:
22. a slave who becomes king,a fool who eats too much,
23. a hateful womanwho finds a husband,and a slave who takes the placeof the woman who owns her.
24. On this earth four thingsare small but very wise:
25. ants, who seem to be feeble,but store up foodall summer long;
26. badgers, who seem to be weak,but live among the rocks;
27. locusts, who have no king,but march like an army;
28. lizards, which can be caughtin your hand,but sneak into palaces.
29. Three or four creaturesreally strut around: