New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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1 Handle pitch and it will make you dirty;
keep company with an arrogant man and you will grow like him.
2 Do not lift a weight too heavy for you,
keeping company with a man greater and richer than yourself.
How can a jug be friends with a kettle?
If they knock together, the one will be smashed.
3 A rich man does wrong, and adds insult to injury;
a poor man is wronged, and must apologize into the bargain.
4 If you can serve his turn, a rich man will exploit you,
but if you are in need, he will leave you alone.
5 If you are in funds, he will be your constant companion,
and drain you dry without a twinge of remorse.
6 He may need you; and then he will deceive you,
and will be all smiles and encouragement,
paying you compliments and asking, ‘What can I do for you?’,
-- --
Man's life under divine providence
7 embarrassing you with his hospitality,
until he has drained you two or three times over;
but in the end he will laugh at you.
Afterwards, when he sees you, he will pass you by,
nodding his head over you.
8 Take care not to be led astray
and humiliated when you are enjoying yourself.
9 If a great man invites you, be slow to accept,
and he will be the more pressing in his invitation.
10 Do not be forward, for fear of a rebuff,
but do not keep aloof, or you may be forgotten.
11 Do not presume to converse with him as an equal
or be over-confident if he holds you long in talk.
The more he speaks, the more he is testing you,
examining you even while he smiles.
12 The man who cannot keep your secrets is without compunction
and will not spare you harm or imprisonment;
13 so keep your secrets to yourself and be very careful,
for you are walking on the brink of ruin. note
15 Every animal loves its like,
and every man his neighbour.
16 All creatures flock together with their kind,
and men form attachments with their own sort.
17 What has a wolf in common with a lamb,
or a sinner with a man of piety?
18 What peace can there be between hyena and dog,
what peace between rich man and pauper?
19 As lions prey on the wild asses of the desert,
so the rich batten on the poor.
20 As humility disgusts the proud,
so is the rich man disgusted by the poor.
21 If a rich man staggers, he is held up by his friends;
a poor man falls, and his friends disown him as well.
22 When a rich man slips, many come to his rescue;
-- --
Man's life under divine providence
if he says something outrageous, they make excuses for him.
A poor man makes a slip, and they all criticize him;
even if he talks sense, he is not given a hearing.
23 A rich man speaks, and all are silent;
then they praise his speech to the skies.
A poor man speaks, and they say, ‘Who is this?’,
and if he stumbles, they give him an extra push.
24 Wealth is good, if sin has not tainted it;
poverty is a crime only to the ungodly.
25 It is a man's heart that changes the look on his face
either for better or worse.
26 The sign of a happy heart is a cheerful face,
but the invention of proverbs involves wearisome thought.
New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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