New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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1 A drunken workman never grows rich;
carelessness in small things leads little by little to ruin.
2 Wine and women rob the wise of their wits,
and a frequenter of prostitutes becomes more and more reckless,
3 till sores note and worms take possession of him,
and his recklessness becomes his undoing.
4 To trust a man hastily shows a shallow mind,
and to sin is to do an injury to yourself.
5 To delight in wickedness is to court condemnation,
6 but evil loses its hold on the man who hates gossip.
7 Never repeat what you hear,
and you will never be the loser.
8 Tell no tales about friend or foe;
unless silence makes you an accomplice, never betray a man's secret.
9 Suppose he has heard you and learnt to distrust you,
he will seize the first chance to show his hatred.
10 Have you heard a rumour? Let it die with you.
Never fear, it will not make you burst.
11 A fool with a secret goes through agony
-- --
Of prudence and self-discipline
like a woman in childbirth.
12 As painful as an arrow through the thigh
is a rumour in the heart of a fool.
13 Confront your friend with the gossip about him; he may not have done it;
or if he did it, he will know not to do it again.
14 Confront your neighbour; he may not have said it;
or if he did say it, he will know not to say it again.
15 Confront your friend; it will often turn out to be slander;
do not believe everything you hear.
16 A man may let slip more than he intends;
whose tongue is always free from guilt?
17 Confront your neighbour before you threaten him,
and let the law of the Most High take its course. note
20 All wisdom is the fear of the Lord
and includes the fulfilling of the law. note
22 The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom,
nor is there good sense in the advice of sinners.
23 There is a cleverness that is loathsome,
and some fools are merely ignorant.
24 Better to be godfearing and lack brains
than to have great intelligence and break the law.
25 A meticulous cleverness may lead to injustice,
and a man may make himself offensive in order that right may prevail.
26 There is a scoundrel who stoops and wears mourning,
but who is a fraud at heart.
27 He covers his face and pretends to be deaf,
but when nobody is looking, he will steal a march on you;
28 and if lack of strength prevents him from doing wrong,
he will still harm you at the first opportunity.
29 Yet you can tell a man by his looks
and recognize good sense at first sight.
-- --
Of prudence and self-discipline
30 A man's clothes, and the way he laughs,
and his gait, reveal his character.
New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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