Read the Bible

Warnings and Instructions

^1 (C1)Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you ^(C2)do not know what a day may bring.

² Let ^(C1)another praise you, and not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips.

³ A stone is heavy and the sand weighty,
But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them.

⁴ Wrath is fierce and anger is a flood,
But ^(C1)who can stand before jealousy?

⁵ Better is ^(C1)open rebuke
Than love that is concealed.

⁶ Faithful are the ^(C1)wounds of a friend,
But ^(F1)deceitful are the ^(C2)kisses of an enemy.

⁷ A satisfied ^(F1)person ^(F2)despises honey,
But to a hungry ^(F1)person any bitter thing is sweet.

⁸ Like a ^(C1)bird that wanders from its nest,
So is a person who ^(C2)wanders from his ^(F1)home.

^9 (C1)Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
And a ^(F1)person's advice is sweet to his friend.

¹⁰ Do not abandon your ^(C1)friend or ^(C2)your father's friend,
And do not go to your brother's house on the day of your disaster;
Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

^11 (C1)Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
So that I may ^(C2)reply to one who taunts me.

¹² A prudent person sees evil and hides himself;
But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.

^13 (C1)Take his garment when he becomes a guarantor for a stranger;
And for a foreign woman seize a pledge from him.

^14 (C1)One who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,
It will be considered a curse to him.

¹⁵ A ^(C1)constant dripping on a day of steady rain
And a contentious woman are alike;

¹⁶ He who would ^(F1)restrain her ^(F1)restrains the wind,
And ^(F2)grasps oil with his right hand.

¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron,
So one person sharpens another.

¹⁸ One who tends the ^(C1)fig tree will eat its fruit,
And one who ^(C2)cares for his master will be honored.

¹⁹ As in water a face reflects the face,
So the heart of a person reflects the person.

^20 (F1)(C1)Sheol and ^(F2)Abaddon are ^(C2)never satisfied,
Nor are the ^(C3)eyes of a person ever satisfied.

²¹ The ^(C1)crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And each ^(C2)is tested by the praise accorded him.

²² Though you ^(C1)pound the fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
His foolishness still will not leave him.

^23 (C1)Know well the ^(F1)condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds;

²⁴ For riches are not forever,
Nor does a ^(C1)crown endure to all generations.

²⁵ When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen,
And the herbs of the mountains are ^(C1)gathered in,

²⁶ The lambs will be for your clothing,
And the goats will bring the price of a field,

²⁷ And there will be enough goats' milk for your food,
For the food of your household,
And sustenance for your attendants.