1 If you do, you will never get rich; if you don't pay attention to small matters, you will gradually ruin yourself. 2 Wine and women make sensible men do foolish things. A man who goes to prostitutes gets more and more careless, 3 and that carelessness will cost him his life. Worms will feed on his decaying body.
4 It is silly to trust people too quickly. If you sin, you are hurting yourself. 5 If wickedness makes you happy, you will be condemned.
Loose Talk
6 Avoid idle talk, and you will avoid a lot of trouble. 7 Never repeat what you hear, and you will have no regrets. 8 Don't tell it to your friends or your enemies unless it would be sinful to keep it to yourself. 9 Whoever hears you will take note of it, and sooner or later will hate you for it. 10 Have you heard a rumor? Let it die with you. Be brave! It won't make you explode. 11 A foolish person trying to keep a secret suffers like a woman in labor. 12 Any time he hears a secret, it's like an arrow stuck in his leg.
13 If you hear that a friend has done something wrong, ask him about it. Maybe it isn't true. If it is true, he won't do it again. 14 If you hear that a neighbor has said something he shouldn't, ask him about it. Maybe he didn't say it. If he did, he won't say it again. 15 If you hear something bad about a friend, ask him about it. It might be a lie. Don't believe everything you hear. 16 A person may say something carelessly and not really mean it. Everyone has sinned in this way at one time or another. 17 If you hear something that makes you angry with your neighbor, ask him about it before you threaten him. Leave the matter to the Law of the Most High.
Recognizing Real Wisdom
20 Fear the Lord and keep his Law; that is what Wisdom is all about. 22 You may know everything there is to know about wickedness, but that does not make you wise. It is not sensible to follow the advice of sinners. 23 It is possible to use cleverness for wicked purposes, but some people act like fools because they don't know any better. 24 A devout person, even if he is not very intelligent, is better off than the cleverest of sinners. 25 It is possible to be marvelously clever and still be dishonest, or to get what you want by being absurdly polite.
26 Then there are those wicked people who go about looking very solemn and mournful, but who are only trying to deceive you. 27 They will turn their faces away and pretend not to hear you, but they'll take advantage of you when you least expect it. 28 If for some reason they are unable to sin now, they'll get around to it at the first opportunity. 29 You can know people by their appearance. The first time you look at them, you can tell if they have good sense. 30 Their character shows in the way they dress, the way they laugh, and the way they walk.
1 Pie bagātības netiks strādnieks iedzērājs.
Kas niecina nedaudzo, ies pamazām postā.
2 Vīns un sievietes pavedina saprātīgos.
Kas ir izlaidīgāks, pinas ar ielasmeitām.
3 Trūdiem un tārpiem tāds kritīs par mantojumu,
un projām tiks aizrauta dvēsele izlaidīgā.
Izvairīšanās no tenkošanas
4 Vieglprātīgs, kas ātri uzticas:
pret sevi pašu grēcinieks noziedzas.
5 Ko iepriecina ļaunais, tas tiks notiesāts.
Kas baudām pretojas, vainago savu dzīvi;
6 kas mēli savalda, sakāvi nepiedzīvos.
Kas neieredz tenkas, no nelaimes izvairīsies.
7 Neatstāsti dzirdēto nekad,
un tev nenāksies piedzīvot ļaunu;
8 ne draugam, ne naidniekam nestāsti to!
Neizpaud, ja vien tev nav jāgrēko!
9 Var izdzirdēt, un sāks uzmanīties no tevis,
un pienāks mirklis – ienīdīs.
10 Lai, mirstot tev, mirst dzirdētais!
Saņemies! Tas nepārraus tevi pušu!
11 Muļķis mokās dzirdētā dēļ ciešanās
kā bērna dēļ dzemdētāja;
12 kā šautra ciskā, iestrēgusi miesā,
tā dzirdētais muļķim iekšā.
Neuzticēšanās ļaužu valodām
13 Prasi draugam, vai maz tā darījis,
un, ja ir darījis, lai vairs nedara!
14 Prasi tuvākajam, vai maz tā teicis,
un, ja ir teicis, lai neatkārto!
15 Prasi draugam – nereti mēdz apmelot,
netici visam, ko esi dzirdējis!
16 Dažam gadās paslīdēt, pašam negribot, –
un kurš gan nav grēkojis mēļojot?
17 Prasi tuvākajam, pirms piedraudēt tam!
Ļauj īstenoties šādi Kunga bauslībai!
18 Bijība pret Kungu – pieņēmumiem pamatā.
Gudrība no viņa mīlestību saglabā.
19 Kunga baušļu pazīšanā – dzīves māka.
Kas dara to, kas Kungam patīkams,
tas plūc no nemirstības koka.
Atšķirība starp gudrību un viltu
20 It visa gudrība – bijībā pret Kungu,
it visa saistīta ar bauslības izpildi
un Visuvaldītāja varas atzīšanu.
21 Vergs, kas saka saimniekam:
“Es nedarīšu to, kas tev ir patīkams,” –
sanikno maizes devēju, pat ja izdarītu pēc tam.
22 Ļaunuma izzināšanā gudrības nav,
grēcinieku nodomos nav sapratnes,
23 ir viltība, un tā ir riebīga,
ir nelga, kuram trūkst gudrības.
24 Labāk tāds, kam izpratnes mazāk, bet kas ir bijīgs,
nekā tāds, kam sapratnes papilnam – un pārkāpj bauslību.
25 Ir izsmalcināta viltība, un tā ir netaisna.
Ir labvēlīguma locītājs – lai panāktu vēlamo spriedumu,
turpretī gudrais spriež taisnīgu spriedumu.
26 Ir nelietis, sērīgi salīcis,
bet iekšpusē viltus pilns,
27 aizslēpis seju, izliekas nedzirdam,
bet, palicis nepazīts, tev aizsteigsies priekšā
28 un, pat ja spēka trūkums tam neļautu grēkot,
rīkosies nelietīgi, tiklīdz būs iespējams.
29 Vīru pazīst pēc skata,
domājošu cilvēku – saskatoties.
30 Ģērbšanās veids, mute, smejoties vaļā,
un gaita stāsta par cilvēku.
