Read the Bible

¹ Do not boast about tomorrow;
for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
² Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
someone else, and not your own lips.
³ A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
but vexation by a fool is more burdensome than the two of them.
⁴ Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy?
⁵ Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.
⁷ The one whose appetite is satisfied loathes honey,
but to the hungry mouth every bitter thing is sweet.
⁸ Like a bird that wanders from its nest,
so is a person who wanders from his home.
⁹ Ointment and incense make the heart rejoice,
likewise the sweetness of one's friend from sincere counsel.
¹⁰ Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend,
and do not enter your brother's house in the day of your disaster;
a neighbor nearby is better than a brother far away.
¹¹ Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
so that I may answer anyone who taunts me.
¹² A shrewd person sees danger and hides himself,
but the naive keep right on going and suffer for it.
¹³ Take a man's garment when he has given security for a stranger,
and when he gives surety for a stranger, hold him in pledge.
¹⁴ If someone blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,
it will be counted as a curse to him.
¹⁵ A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a contentious wife are alike.
¹⁶ Whoever hides her hides the wind
or grasps oil with his right hand.
¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron,
so a person sharpens his friend.
¹⁸ The one who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and whoever takes care of his master will be honored.
¹⁹ As in water the face is reflected as a face,
so a person's heart reflects the person.
²⁰ As Death and Destruction are never satisfied,
so the eyes of a person are never satisfied.
²¹ As the crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold,
so a person is proved by the praise he receives.
²² If you should pound the fool in the mortar
among the grain with the pestle,
his foolishness would not depart from him.
²³ Pay careful attention to the condition of your flocks,
give careful attention to your herds,
²⁴ for riches do not last forever,
nor does a crown last from generation to generation.
²⁵ When the hay is removed and new grass appears,
and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
²⁶ the lambs will be for your clothing,
and the goats will be for the price of a field.
²⁷ And there will be enough goat's milk for your food,
for the food of your household,
and for the sustenance of your servant girls.