1A lazy person is like a filthy stone; everyone hisses at his disgrace.
2A lazy person is like a lump of dung; everyone who picks him up shakes it off his hand.
3An undisciplined son is a disgrace to his father, and a daughter is born to his loss.
4A sensible daughter is an inheritance for her husband, but a shameful one is a grief to her father.
5A brazen daughter shames both her father and her husband, and she will be dishonored by both.
6Music in a time of mourning is an untimely tale; but scourges and discipline are wisdom at all times.
7Teaching a fool is like gluing a potsherd together, or like waking someone from a deep sleep.
8Speaking to a fool is like speaking to a drowsy person; at the end he will say, “What is it?”
11Weep for the dead, for light has failed; and weep for a fool, for understanding has failed. Weep more gently for the dead, for he has found rest; but the life of a fool is worse than death.
12Mourning for the dead is seven days, but for a fool and a godless person, it is all the days of his life.
13Do not talk much with a senseless person, and do not travel with one who lacks understanding. Beware of him, lest you have trouble and be defiled when he shakes himself off. Turn away from him and you will find rest, and you will not be wearied by his folly.
14What is heavier than lead? And what is its name but “fool”?
15Sand and salt and a lump of iron are easier to bear than a person without understanding.
16A wooden framework fastened into a building will not be shaken apart by an earthquake; so a heart established on considered counsel will not be afraid in a time of crisis.
17A heart established on a thoughtful understanding is like the plaster decoration on a polished wall.
18Stakes set on a high place will not stand against the wind; so a timid heart with a fool’s resolve will not stand against any fear.
19One who pokes an eye brings forth tears, and one who pokes a heart brings forth feeling.
20Throwing a stone at birds scares them away, and reproaching a friend dissolves a friendship.
21If you draw a sword against a friend, do not despair, for there can be a return.
22If you speak harshly to a friend, do not be afraid, for there can be reconciliation. But for reproach, arrogance, revealing a secret, or a treacherous blow—for these things, any friend will flee.
23Gain your neighbor’s trust in his poverty, so that you may be filled together in his prosperity. Remain with him in time of affliction, so that you may share in his inheritance.
24Before a fire there is furnace vapor and smoke; so before bloodshed there are insults.
25I will not be ashamed to shelter a friend, and I will not hide from his face.
26But if evil comes to me because of him, everyone who hears of it will beware of him.
27Who will set a guard over my mouth, and a well-devised seal upon my lips, so that I may not fall because of them, and my tongue may not destroy me?
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