1Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.

2Let someone else praise you and not your own mouth;
a stranger and not your own lips.

3Consider the heaviness of a stone and the weight of sand—
the provocation of a fool is heavier than both.

4There is the cruelty of rage and the flood of anger,
but who is able to stand before jealousy?

5Better is an open rebuke
than hidden love.

6Faithful are the wounds caused by a friend,
but an enemy may kiss you profusely.

7A person who has eaten to the full rejects even a honeycomb,
but to the hungry person, every bitter thing is sweet.

8Like a bird that wanders from its nest
is a man who strays from where he lives.

9Perfume and incense make the heart rejoice,
but the sweetness of a friend comes from his sincere counsel. ⁴

10Do not forsake your friend and your friend's father,
and do not go to your brother's house on the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is nearby than a brother who is far away.

11Be wise, my son, and make my heart rejoice;
then I will give back an answer to the one who mocks me.

12A prudent man sees trouble and hides himself,
but the naive people go on and suffer because of it.

13Take a garment of one who has put up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an immoral woman.

14Whoever gives his neighbor a blessing with a loud voice early in the morning,
that blessing will be considered to be a curse!

15A quarreling wife is like
the constant dripping on a rainy day;

16restraining her is like restraining the wind,
or trying to catch oil in your right hand.

17Iron sharpens iron;
in the same way, a man sharpens his friend.

18The one who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and the one who protects his master will be honored.

19Just as water reflects a person's face,
so a person's heart reflects the person.

20Just as Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
so a man's eyes are never satisfied.

21A crucible is for silver and a furnace is for gold;
and a person is tested when he is praised.

22Even if you crush a fool with the pestle—along with the grain—
yet his foolishness will not leave him.

23Be sure you know the condition of your flocks
and be concerned about your herds,

24for wealth is not forever.
Does a crown endure for all generations?

25You should know when the hay is gone and the new growth appears,
and the time when the grass from the hills is gathered in.

26Those lambs will provide your clothing
and the goats will provide the price of the field.

27There will be goats' milk for your food—the food for your household—
and nourishment for your servant girls.