1If thou do good, know to whom thou doest it;
And thy good deeds shall have thanks.

2Do good to a godly man, and thou shalt find a recompense;
And if not from him, yet from the Most High.

3There shall no good come to him that continueth to do evil,
Nor to him that giveth no alms.

4Give to the godly man,
And help not the sinner.

5Do good to one that is lowly,
And give not to an ungodly man:
Keep back his bread, and give it not to him,
Lest he overmaster thee thereby:
For thou shalt receive twice as much evil
For all the good thou shalt have done unto him.

6For the Most High also hateth sinners,
And will repay vengeance unto the ungodly. ⁵⁴

7Give to the good man,
And help not the sinner.

8A man’s friend will not be ⁵⁵fully tried in prosperity;
And his enemy will not be hidden in adversity.

9In a man’s prosperity his enemies are grieved;
And in his adversity even his friend will be separated from him.

10Never trust thine enemy:
For like as the brass rusteth, so is his wickedness.

11Though he humble himself, and go crouching,
Yet take good heed, and beware of him,
And thou shalt be unto him as one that hath wiped a mirror,
And thou shalt know that ⁵⁶he hath not utterly rusted it.

12Set him not by thee,
Lest he overthrow thee and stand in thy place;
Let him not sit on thy right hand,
Lest he seek to take thy seat,
And at the last thou acknowledge my words,
And be pricked with my sayings.

13Who will pity a charmer that is bitten with a serpent,
Or any that come nigh wild beasts?

14Even so who will pity him that goeth to a sinner,
And is mingled with him in his sins?

15For a while he will abide with thee,
And if thou give way, he will not hold out.

16And the enemy will speak sweetly with his lips,
And in his heart take counsel how to overthrow thee into a pit:
The enemy will weep with his eyes,
And if he find opportunity, he will not be satiated with blood.

17If adversity meet thee, thou shalt find him there before thee;
And as though he would help thee, he will trip up thy heel.

18He will shake his head, and clap his hands,
And whisper much, and change his countenance.