Read the Bible

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

² Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.

³ A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, But a fool's wrath is heavier than both of them. ⁴ Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, But who is able to stand before jealousy?

⁵ Open rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed. ⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

⁷ A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

⁸ Like a bird that wanders from its nest Is a man who wanders from his place.

⁹ Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man's friend gives delight by hearty counsel. ¹⁰ Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, Nor go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

¹¹ My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, That I may answer him who reproaches me.

¹² A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; The simple pass on and are punished.

¹³ Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger, And hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress.

¹⁴ He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It will be counted a curse to him.

¹⁵ A continual dripping on a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike; ¹⁶ Whoever restrains her restrains the wind, And grasps oil with his right hand.

¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

¹⁸ Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit; So he who waits on his master will be honored.

¹⁹ As in water face reflects face, So a man's heart reveals the man.

²⁰ Hell [fn] and Destruction [fn] are never full;So the eyes of man are never satisfied.

²¹ The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, And a man is valued by what others say of him.

²² Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

²³ Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds; ²⁴ For riches are not forever, Nor does a crown endure to all generations. ²⁵ When the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in, ²⁶ The lambs will provide your clothing, And the goats the price of a field; ²⁷ You shall have enough goats' milk for your food, For the food of your household, And the nourishment of your maidservants.