8. First, help me never to tell a lie.Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
9. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the lord?”And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
10. Never slander a worker to the employer,or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.
11. Some people curse their fatherand do not thank their mother.
12. They are pure in their own eyes,but they are filthy and unwashed.
13. They look proudly around,casting disdainful glances.
14. They have teeth like swordsand fangs like knives.They devour the poor from the earthand the needy from among humanity.
15. The leech has two suckersthat cry out, “More, more!”There are three things that are never satisfied—no, four that never say, “Enough!”:
16. the grave,the barren womb,the thirsty desert,the blazing fire.
17. The eye that mocks a fatherand despises a mother’s instructionswill be plucked out by ravens of the valleyand eaten by vultures.
18. There are three things that amaze me—no, four things that I don’t understand:
19. how an eagle glides through the sky,how a snake slithers on a rock,how a ship navigates the ocean,how a man loves a woman.