Read the Bible

¹ It's better to be poor
and live right
    than to be a stupid liar.
² Willingness and stupidity
    don't go well together.
    If you are too eager,
    you will miss the road.
³ We are ruined
by our own stupidity,
    though we blame the Lord.

⁴ The rich have many friends;
    the poor have none.
⁵     Dishonest witnesses and liars
    won't escape punishment.
⁶ Everyone tries to be friends
    of those who can help them.
⁷ If you are poor,
your own relatives reject you,
    and your friends are worse.
When you really need them,
    they are not there.^[a]

⁸ Do yourself a favor
by having good sense—
    you will be glad you did.
⁹ Dishonest witnesses and liars
    will be destroyed.
¹⁰ It isn't right for a fool
    to live in luxury
    or for a slave to rule
    in place of a king.
¹¹ It's wise to be patient
    and show what you are like
    by forgiving others.
¹² An angry king roars
    like a lion,
    but when a king is pleased,
    it's like dew on the crops.

¹³ A foolish son brings disgrace
    to his father.
A nagging wife goes on and on
    like the drip, drip, drip
    of the rain.
¹⁴ You may inherit all you own
    from your parents,
    but a sensible wife
    is a gift from the Lord.
¹⁵ If you are lazy
and sleep your time away,
    you will starve.

¹⁶ Obey the Lord's teachings
and you will live—
    disobey and you will die.
¹⁷ Caring for the poor
is lending to the Lord,
    and you will be well repaid.
¹⁸ Correct your children
    before it's too late;
    if you don't punish them,
    you are destroying them.
¹⁹ People with bad tempers
    are always in trouble,
    and they need help
    over and over again.^[b]
20 Pay attention to advice
and accept correction,
    so you can live sensibly.

²¹ We may make a lot of plans,
    but the Lord will do
    what he has decided.
²² What matters most is loyalty.
    It's better to be poor
    than to be a liar.
²³ Showing respect to the Lord
    brings true life—
    if you do it, you can relax
    without fear of danger.

²⁴ Some people are too lazy
    to lift a hand
    to feed themselves.
²⁵ Stupid fools learn good sense
    by seeing others punished;
    a sensible person learns
    by being corrected.
²⁶ Children who bring disgrace
rob their father
    and chase their mother away.
²⁷ If you stop learning,
    you will forget
    what you already know.
²⁸ A lying witness makes fun
    of the court system,
    and criminals think crime
    is really delicious.
²⁹ Every stupid fool
is just waiting
    to be punished.