1Better is a dry morsel and tranquility with it

Than a house full of [†]feasting with strife.

2A slave who acts insightfully will rule over a son who acts shamefully,

And will share in the inheritance among brothers.

3The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,

But Yahweh tests hearts.

4An evildoer gives heed to lips of wickedness;

[†]A liar gives ear to a destructive tongue.

5He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker;

He who is glad at disaster will not go unpunished.

6[†]Grandchildren are the crown of old men,

And the beauty of sons is their fathers.

7Excellent lips are not fitting for a [†]wicked fool,

Even less are lying lips for a noble man.

8A bribe is a [†]charm in the eyes of its owner;

Wherever he turns, he prospers.

9He who covers a transgression seeks love,

But he who repeats a matter separates close companions.

10A rebuke goes deeper into one who understands

Than a hundred blows into a fool.

11A rebellious man seeks only evil,

So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

12Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs,

Rather than a fool in his folly.

13He who returns evil for good,

Evil will not depart from his house.

14The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

So abandon the dispute before it breaks out.

15He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,

Both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.

16Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to acquire wisdom,

When [†]he has no heart of wisdom?

17A friend loves at all times,

And a brother is born for adversity.

18A man lacking a heart of wisdom strikes his [†]hands in pledge

And becomes guarantor in the presence of his neighbor.

19He who loves transgression loves quarreling;

He who makes his doorway high seeks destruction.

20He who has a crooked heart finds no good,

And he who is perverted in his tongue falls into evil.

21He who begets a fool does so to his grief,

And the father of a wicked fool is not glad.

22A glad heart [†]is good medicine,

But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

23A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom

To thrust aside the paths of justice.

24Wisdom is in the presence of the one who understands,

But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

25A foolish son is a vexation to his father

And bitterness to her who gave birth to him.

26It is also not good to punish the righteous,

Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

27He who holds back his words [†]has knowledge,

And he who has a cool spirit is a man of discernment.

28Even an ignorant fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;

When he closes his lips, he is considered understanding.