\id PRO - The Orthodox Jewish Bible
\usfm 3.0
\ide UTF-8
\ide UTF-8
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\rem Language: English
\h MISHLE
\toc1 Mishle
\toc2 Mishle
\toc3 Prov
\mt Mishle
\is Introduction
\ip The Book of Mishle (Proverbs) says that the fear of \nd Hashem\nd* is the beginning of Wisdom (\xt 1:7,29; 9:10; 15:33\xt*) and “life indeed” (\xt 19:23\xt*). Moreover, whether to fear \nd Hashem\nd* is a choice (\xt 1:29\xt*) with ethical implications (\xt 14:2; 16:6\xt*) that are a matter of life and death (\xt 21:16\xt*). The aim of acquiring wisdom is acquiring more trust in \nd Hashem\nd* (\xt 22:19\xt*) as we seek Him (\xt 28:5\xt*). The waywardly complacent fool makes the wrong choice (\xt 14:16,33; 15:17; 17:16\xt*), and the Book of Proverbs strongly exhorts the pursuit of Biblical wisdom as something of incomparable value (\xt 16:16; 23:23\xt*), asserting that whoever does not tremble at the wise words of Scripture is a doomed fool (\xt 19:16\xt*), even if he is outwardly religious (\xt 15:8; 21:27; 28:9\xt*) and generally presumed righteous (\xt 20:9; 21:2; 30:12\xt*). The Book of Proverbs also deals with practical wisdom, with matters like marrying well and finding a good spouse (see \xt 18:22; 31:10-31\xt*). In fact, Wisdom (chochmah) is presented metaphorically as a lady street preacher (\xt 1:20-33; 8:1—9:12\xt*) and is contrasted with the lethal allure of Dame Folly (Aishet Kesilut “a woman of folly”), presented, in contrast, as an adulterous street walker (\xt 2:16-19; 6:24—7:27; 9:13-18; 23:27-28; 30:20\xt*). Both women make strong appeals to the passersby in front of their respective houses. The house of one is blessed and the other is cursed (see also \xt 14:1\xt*), and all who enter the house of one or the other will share in either the houseʼs blessing or its curse. This poetic teaching against sexual immorality falls within the larger theme of “bad company destroys good morals” (\xt 1C 15:33\xt*) which includes \xt 1:10-19; 2:12-22; 3:31-35; 4:14-19; 14:7; 22:5,14,24-25; 28:7; 29:3; 31:3\xt* and passages which deal with ethical qualities like envy, greed, covetousness, violence, mercy, generosity, and kindness (\xt 11:24-26; 15:27; 21:13,26,31; 22:9,16,22-23; 23:4-6,17; 24:1; 27:4; 28:20,22,25; 28:27; 29:7; 30:14-15\xt*). Seen in a feminine image, Wisdom is the most desirable of women and the tree of life (\xt 3:13-18; 4:22; 8:35-36\xt* — see also \xt 11:30\xt*). Seen in a masculine image, he is the Fatherʼs Son (\xt Prov 30:4\xt*), working as the master worker Chochmah, a carpenterʼs assistant used instrumentally to create the world (\xt 3:19; 8:22-34\xt*). \xt Prov 8:30\xt* “Then I was by Him \add (at His side)\add*, as an artisan \add (artistic craftsman)\add*; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” When the Word became flesh, he became the craftsman at Yosef Ben Dovidʼs side, having already been from all eternity \nd Hashem\nd*ʼs Amon (Builder) Oman (Artist). The feminine metaphor with which chapter 8 began has changed to a masculine one. Amon is a masculine noun meaning artisan or craftsman. Another possible meaning is foster-child. In any case, as Keil and Delitzsch have shown, at this point in the chapter the feminine determination disappears. See how the word is used in \xt Jer 52:15\xt*. To be filled with the Spirit of G-d like Betzalel meant to be filled with wisdom to build creatively as a craftsman — see \xt Ex 31:3\xt*. Thus Wisdom is pictured as an artisan with G-d, even as \xt Yn 1:1\xt* says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with G-d.” In \xt Prov 30:4\xt* more light is thrown on this passage: Wisdom is like a Son, a Son working creatively at his Fatherʼs side. However, \xt Hos 11:1-4\xt* shows that the divine fatherhood is moral and spiritual, in contrast to the sexual or physical ideas of the Ba'al cults, or in contrast to the ignorant scoffers at the Biblical doctrine of G-d and His Messianic saving Chochmah. \nd Hashem\nd* has a “Son” according to \xt Prov 30:4\xt* and this text reflects back to Proverbs 8 and especially \xt 8:30\xt*. This “Son” is not Israel, which is scarcely mentioned in Proverbs. The figure of a son toiling by the side of his father was a familiar one, and is an arresting metaphor for G-dʼs primordial Wisdom toiling creatively in the beginning with G-d and being sent on a healing redemptive mission (\xt Ps 107:20\xt*). Likewise, \xt Ps 2:7; Ps 89:27-28\xt*, and \xt Isa 9:6\xt* [5] are passages where the Moshiach is pictured as G-dʼs Son, His firstborn in the sense of His agent and heir coming in divine glory (see \xt Dan 7:13-14\xt* on the Son who comes in the clouds with G-d) to “divide the spoil with the strong” (\xt Isa 53:12\xt*) and to rule eternally at His side — see Psa 110; \xt Isa 9:7\xt* [6]. The folly of the Fall (\xt Gn 3:1-24\xt*) itself is alluded to in Prov.\xt 3:5-7\xt*, “Do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the L-rd, and turn away from evil.” See also \xt 11:2; 12:9; 14:12; 15:25,33; 16:5,18-19; 18:12; 19:3; 21:4,24; 25:6-7,27; \xt*\xt 26:12; 27:1-2; 28:26; 29:23\xt*, which touch on the sin of pride and presumption. The book advocates honoring G-d with the tithe (\xt 3:9-10\xt*) and remaining docile before Him to hear and obey His Scriptural commands (\xt 3:11-12; 10:8,17; 12:1,15; 13:1,13; 15:5,10,12,31-32; 19:20,25; 20:18,30; 21:11; 24:6; 25:12; 27:5-6,17; 28:23; 29:1\xt*) lest one backslide (\xt 26:11; 28:4\xt*). Obeying G-d requires zeal, diligence, and shrewd planning for future needs (\xt 6:6-11; 10:4-5,26; 12:11,24,27; 13:4; 14:4,23; 15:19; 16:26; 18:9; 19:15,24; 20:4,13; 21:5,17,25; 22:7,13; 24:27,30-34; 26:13-16; 27:18,25-27; 28:19\xt*), as well as self-control (\xt 16:32; 19:19; 20:1; 23:19-21,29-35; 25:28; 29:11,22; 31:4-5\xt*), straightforwardness and honesty of speech (\xt 4:24; 6:12; 10:10-11; 12:17,19,22; 14:5,25; 19:9,28; 21:6,28; 26:23-28; 30:8\xt*) and foreswearing all treachery, dishonesty, and injustice (\xt 3:29; 10:2; 11:1,9,20; 13:5; 16:11; 17:23; 18:5; 20:17,23; 22:28; 24:10-12,24-25; 28:13\xt*), remembering that G-d hates the slanderer (\xt 10:18\xt*), the gossip (\xt 11:13; 16:28; 18:8; 20:19; 26:20,22\xt*), the sower of discord (\xt 6:12-19; 13:10; 26:21\xt*), and the one who gloats (\xt 24:17\xt*) or belittles people (\xt 11:12\xt*) or is bitterly vengeful (\xt 24:29; 25:21-22\xt*) or is a mocker (\xt 30:17\xt*). Part of the task of teaching shrewdness to the simple (\xt 1:4\xt*) is warning him not to offer property as collateral for his neighborʼs debts or to similarly go into debt himself (\xt 6:1-5; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26-27; 27:13\xt*). Also he must be taught to be sensitive to the reactions of others and how they are perceiving him (\xt 25:17; 27:14,23\xt*). “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses” (\xt 10:12\xt*). “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise” (\xt 13:20\xt*), meaning that we should stay in fellowship with fellow believers and maintain a loving relationship with them (see \xt 17:9\xt*). But “the one who is a loner is self-indulgent” (\xt 18:1\xt*a). “What is desirable in a person is loyalty” (\xt 19:22a; 20:6; 25:19; 27:10\xt*). Notice that the sage no less than the prophet preaches the Torah and warns about its curses (See \xt 2:22; 10:30; Dt 28:63-68\xt*). This book was written “for the wise” (\xt 1:5\xt*) but it was also written for young people (\xt 1:8,10; 19:27; 22:6\xt*), who will perish without discipline (\xt 13:24; 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15,17\xt*). This book reminds us, and we always need reminding, that “a good name is rather to be desired than great riches” (\xt 22:1\xt*).
\c 1
\p
\v 1 Mishlei Sh'lomo Ben Dovid, Melech Yisroel;
\q
\v 2 To have da'as of chochmah and musar \add (discipline)\add*;
\q to understand the words of binah;
\q
\v 3 To receive the musar of those with seichel,
\q tzedek and mishpat, and meisharim \add (equity, uprightness)\add*;
\q
\v 4 To give subtlety to the simple,
\q to the na'ar, da'as and discretion.
\q
\v 5 A chacham \add (wise person)\add* will hear, and will increase learning,
\q and a man of understanding shall acquire wise counsel:
\q
\v 6 To understand a mashal \add (proverb)\add*, and the melitzah \add (enigma)\add*;
\q the divrei chachamim, and their chidot \add (riddles)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 7 The Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* is the reshit da'as,
\q but fools despise chochmah and musar.
\b
\q
\v 8 Beni \add (my son)\add*, hear the musar Avicha,
\q and forsake not the Torat Immecha.
\q
\v 9 For they shall be a garland of chen unto thy rosh,
\q and a chain about thy neck.
\b
\q
\v 10 Beni \add (my son)\add*, if chatt'aim \add (sinners)\add* entice thee,
\q consent thou not.
\q
\v 11 If they say, Come with us,
\q let us lie in wait for dahm,
\q let us lurk secretly for the naki \add (innocent, harmless)\add* chinnom \add (without cause)\add*;
\q
\v 12 Let us swallow them up chayyim \add (alive)\add* like She'ol;
\q and whole, as those that go down into the bor \add (pit)\add*;
\q
\v 13 We shall find all precious substance,
\q we shall fill bateinu \add (our houses)\add* with plunder;
\q
\v 14 Throw in thy goral \add (lot)\add* among us;
\q let all of us have kis echad \add (one pouch, purse)\add*.
\q
\v 15 Beni \add (my son)\add*, walk not thou in the derech with them;
\q refrain thy regel from their path;
\q
\v 16 For their raglayim run to rah,
\q and make haste for shefach dahm \add (shedding of blood)\add*.
\q
\v 17 Surely in vain the reshet \add (net)\add* is spread
\q in the eyes of kol ba'al kanaf \add (all the birds)\add*;\f + \fr 1:17 \fr*\ft i.e., lit. master of [the] wing\ft*\f*
\q
\v 18 And they lie in wait for their own dahm;
\q they lurk secretly for their own nafshot.
\q
\v 19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy for betza \add (ill-gotten gain)\add*;
\q which taketh away the nefesh of the be'alim \add (owners)\add* thereof.
\b
\q
\v 20 Chochmot crieth out in the street;
\q she lifts up her voice in the rechovot \add (city squares)\add*;
\q
\v 21 She crieth out in the chief place of concourse,
\q in the openings of the she'arim \add (gates)\add*;
\q in the Ir \add (city)\add* she uttereth her words, saying,
\q
\v 22 Ad mosai, ye simple ones, will ye love being simpletons?
\q And the scoffers delight in their mockery,
\q and kesilim \add (fools)\add* hate da'as?
\q
\v 23 Turn you at my tokhechah \add (reproof)\add*; hinei,
\q I will pour out my ruach unto you,
\q I will make known my devarim unto you.
\q
\v 24 Because I have called, and ye refused,
\q I have stretched out my yad, and no man regarded;
\q
\v 25 But ye have disdained all my etza \add (counsel)\add*,
\q and would have none of my tokhechah \add (reproof)\add*;
\q
\v 26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
\q I will mock when your pachad \add (terror)\add* cometh;
\q
\v 27 When your pachad \add (terror)\add* cometh like a storm,
\q and your calamity cometh like a whirlwind;
\q when tzarah \add (distress)\add* and oppression cometh upon you.
\q
\v 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer;
\q they shall look for me diligently, but they shall not find me;
\q
\v 29 For that they hated da'as,
\q and did not choose the Yirat \nd Hashem\nd*;
\q
\v 30 They would have none of my etza \add (counsel)\add*;
\q they despised all my tokhechah \add (reproof)\add*.
\q
\v 31 Therefore shall they eat of the p'ri \add (fruit)\add* of their own derech,
\q and be filled with their own mo'atzot \add (schemes, devices)\add*.
\q
\v 32 For the waywardness of the simple shall slay them,
\q and the complacent contentment of kesilim \add (fools)\add* shall destroy them.
\q
\v 33 But the one who payeth heed unto me\f + \fr 1:33 \fr*\ft Chochmat \+nd Hashem\+nd*, i.e., the Redemptive Word, not only \+nd Hashem\+nd*ʼs creative agent (\ft*\xt Ps 33:6; Prov 8:30; 30:4\xt*) but the one who comes with a healing mission according to \xt Ps 107:20\xt*, though Moshiach has to die in the midst of his healing Mission to accomplish our healing from guilt and punitive dread — \xt Isa 53:5\xt*\f* shall dwell safely,
\q and shall be secure from pachad ra'ah \add (terror of evil)\add*.
\c 2
\q
\v 1 Beni \add (my son)\add*, if thou wilt receive my words,
\q and treasure my mitzvot with thee;
\q
\v 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto chochmah,
\q and apply thine lev to tevunah \add (understanding)\add*;
\q
\v 3 Yea, if thou criest out after binah,
\q and liftest up thy voice for tevunah \add (understanding),\add*
\q
\v 4 If thou seekest her as kesef,
\q and searchest for her as for matmonim \add (hidden treasures)\add*;
\q
\v 5 Then shalt thou understand the Yirat \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q and find the Da'as Elohim.
\q
\v 6 For \nd Hashem\nd* giveth chochmah;
\q out of His Peh \add (mouth)\add* cometh da'as \add (knowledge)\add* and tevunah \add (understanding)\add*.
\q
\v 7 He layeth up tushiyyah \add (wise Torah counsel)\add* for the yesharim \add (upright ones)\add*;
\q He is a mogen \add (shield)\add* to them that walk in blamelessness.
\q
\v 8 He keepeth the orkhot mishpat,
\q and is shomer over the derech of His Chasidim.
\q
\v 9 Then shalt thou understand tzedek, and mishpat,
\q and mesharim \add (equity, fairness)\add* — every ma'agal tov \add (good path)\add*.
\q
\v 10 When chochmah entereth into thine lev,
\q and da'as \add (knowledge)\add* is pleasant unto thy nefesh;
\q
\v 11 Mezimah \add (discretion)\add* shall be shomer over thee,
\q tevunah \add (understanding)\add* shall safeguard thee;
\q
\v 12 To save thee from the derech rah,
\q from the ish medaber tahpukhot \add (man speaking perverse things)\add*;
\q
\v 13 Who leaving the orkhot yosher \add (paths of uprightness)\add*,
\q walk in the drakhei choshech \add (ways of darkness)\add*;
\q
\v 14 Who rejoice to do rah,
\q and delight in the tahpukhot \add (perverse things)\add* of rah \add (evil)\add*;
\q
\v 15 Whose orkhot \add (paths)\add* are crooked ones,
\q and they are devious in their ma'agalot \add (paths)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 16 To save thee from the isha zarah \add (strange woman)\add*,
\q even from the nokhriyah (strange [immoral] woman) which useth smooth words;
\q
\v 17 Which forsaketh the alluf \add (companion, husband)\add* of her youth,
\q and forgetteth the brit \add (covenant)\add* of her G-d.
\q
\v 18 For her bais inclineth toward mavet,
\q and her ma'agalot \add (paths)\add* to the refa'im \add (spirits of the dead)\add*.
\q
\v 19 None that go unto her return again,
\q neither attain they to the orkhot chayyim \add (paths of life)\add*.
\q
\v 20 That thou mayest walk in the derech tovim,
\q and be shomer over the orkhot tzaddikim \add (paths of the righteous)\add*.
\q
\v 21 For the yesharim \add (upright ones)\add* shall dwell in the land,
\q and the tamimim \add (blameless, faultless ones)\add* shall remain in it.
\q
\v 22 But the resha'im shall be cut off from ha'aretz,
\q and the bogedim \add (treacherous ones)\add* shall be rooted out of it.
\c 3
\q
\v 1 Beni \add (my son)\add*, forget not my torah;
\q but let thine lev keep my mitzvot;
\q
\v 2 For orekh yamim \add (length of days)\add*, and shnot chayyim,
\q and shalom, shall they add to thee.
\q
\v 3 Let not chesed and emes forsake thee;
\q bind them about thy neck;
\q write them upon the luach \add (tablet)\add* of thine lev;
\q
\v 4 So shalt thou find chen and seichel tov
\q in the eyes of Elohim and adam.
\b
\q
\v 5 Trust in \nd Hashem\nd* with all thine lev,
\q and lean not unto thine own binah \add (understanding)\add*.
\q
\v 6 In all thy drakhim acknowledge Him,
\q and He shall make yosher thy orkhot \add (paths)\add*.
\q
\v 7 Be not chacham in thine own eyes;
\q fear \nd Hashem\nd*, and depart from rah.
\q
\v 8 It shall be rife'ut \add (health)\add* to thy navel,
\q and marrow to thy atzmot.
\b
\q
\v 9 Honor \nd Hashem\nd* with thy substance,
\q and with the reshit \add (firstfruit)\add* of all thine increase;
\q
\v 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty,
\q and thy vats shall burst out with tirosh.
\b
\q
\v 11 Beni \add (my son)\add*, despise not the musar \nd Hashem\nd*;
\q neither be weary of His tokhakhah \add (reproof)\add*;
\q
\v 12 For whom \nd Hashem\nd* loveth, He correcteth;
\q even as an av the ben in whom he delighteth.
\b
\q
\v 13 Ashrei \add (happy)\add* is the man that findeth chochmah,
\q and the man that getteth tevunah \add (understanding)\add*.
\q
\v 14 For the gain of it is better than the gain of kesef,
\q and the increase thereof than fine gold.
\q
\v 15 She is more precious than peninim \add (pearls)\add*;
\q and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
\q
\v 16 Orekh yamim is in her right hand;
\q and in her left hand osher and kavod.
\q
\v 17 Her drakhim are drakhim of pleasantness,
\q and all her netivot \add (trodden paths)\add* are shalom.
\q
\v 18 She is an Etz Chayyim \add (Tree of Life)\add* to them that lay hold upon her;
\q and me'usher \add (blessed)\add* is every one that holdeth her fast.
\b
\q
\v 19 \nd Hashem\nd* by chochmah hath founded Eretz \add (Earth)\add*;
\q by tevunah \add (understanding)\add* hath He established Shomayim.
\q
\v 20 By His da'as \add (knowledge)\add* the tehomot \add (oceanic depths)\add* were divided,
\q and the clouds drop down the tal \add (dew)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 21 Beni \add (my son)\add*, let not them depart from thine eyes;
\q keep sound judgment and mezimah \add (discretion)\add*;
\q
\v 22 So shall they be chayyim unto thy nefesh,
\q and chen to thy neck.
\q
\v 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy derech safely,
\q and thy regel shall not stumble.
\q
\v 24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid;
\q when thou liest down, thy sheynah \add (sleep)\add* shall be sweet.
\q
\v 25 Be not afraid of sudden pachad \add (terror)\add*,
\q neither of the desolation of the resha'im \add (wicked ones)\add*, when it cometh.
\q
\v 26 For \nd Hashem\nd* shall be thy confidence,
\q and shall be shomer over thy regel from the snare.
\q
\v 27 Withhold not tov from them to whom it is due,
\q when it is in the power of thine yad to do it.
\b
\q
\v 28 Say not unto thy neighbor:
\q Go, and come again,
\q and makhar \add (tomorrow)\add* I will give;
\q when thou hast it by thee.
\q
\v 29 Devise not ra'ah against thy re'a,
\q seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
\q
\v 30 Strive not with adam without cause,
\q if he have done thee no ra'ah.
\q
\v 31 Envy thou not the ish chamas,
\q and choose none of his drakhim.
\q
\v 32 For the perverse person is to'avat \add (detestable)\add* to \nd Hashem\nd*;
\q but His sod \add (secret, intimate counsel)\add* is with the yesharim \add (upright ones)\add*.
\q
\v 33 The curse of \nd Hashem\nd* is in the bais of the rasha;
\q but He puts a bracha on the dwelling of the tzaddikim.
\q
\v 34 Surely He scorneth the scorners;
\q but He giveth chen \add (grace, favor)\add* unto the anayim \add (lowly, humble ones)\add*.
\q
\v 35 The chachamim shall inherit kavod,
\q but shame shall be the promotion of kesilim \add (fools)\add*.
\c 4
\q
\v 1 Hear, ye banim, the musar \add (instruction, discipline)\add* of an av,
\q and attend to know binah \add (understanding)\add*.
\q
\v 2 For I give you lekach tov \add (good doctrine, good instruction)\add*,
\q forsake ye not my torah.
\q
\v 3 For I was ben to avi,
\q tender and yachid \add (an only child)\add* before immi.
\q
\v 4 He taught me also, and said unto me,
\q Let thine lev retain my words;
\q be shomer over my mitzvot, and live.
\q
\v 5 Acquire chochmah, acquire binah \add (understanding)\add*; forget it not;
\q neither turn from the words of my peh \add (mouth)\add*.
\q
\v 6 Forsake her not, and she shall be shomer over thee;
\q love her, and she shall protect thee.
\q
\v 7 Chochmah is the principal thing;
\q therefore get chochmah, and with all thy getting get binah \add (understanding)\add*.
\q
\v 8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee;
\q she shall honor thee with kavod, when thou dost embrace her.
\q
\v 9 She shall give to thine head a garland of chen;
\q an ateret \add (crown)\add* of tiferet \add (glory)\add* shall she present to thee.
\b
\q
\v 10 Hear, O beni \add (my son)\add*, and receive my sayings;
\q and thy shnot chayyim shall be many.
\q
\v 11 I have taught thee in the derech chochmah;
\q I have led thee in ma'aglei yosher \add (right paths)\add*.
\q
\v 12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be hindered;
\q and when thou runnest, lo tikashel \add (thou shalt not stumble)\add*.
\q
\v 13 Take firm hold of musar;
\q let her not go; guard her; for she is thy chayyim.
\q
\v 14 Enter not into the orach resha'im,
\q and go not on the derech ra'im \add (road of the wicked)\add*.
\q
\v 15 Avoid it, travel al \add (not)\add* on it,
\q turn from it, and pass on.
\q
\v 16 For they sleep not, unless they have done evil;
\q and their sheynah \add (sleep)\add* is robbed, unless they cause some to fall.
\q
\v 17 For they eat the lechem of resha,
\q and drink the yayin of chamasim \add (violences)\add*.
\q
\v 18 But the orach tzaddikim \add (path of the righteous)\add* is as the bright light,
\q that shineth brighter and brighter unto the full day.
\q
\v 19 The derech resha'im is as deep darkness;
\q they know not at what they stumble.
\b
\q
\v 20 Beni \add (my son)\add*, attend to my words;
\q incline thine ozen unto my sayings.
\q
\v 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes;
\q be shomer over them within thine lev.
\q
\v 22 For they are chayyim unto those that find them,
\q and health to all their basar.
\q
\v 23 Set watch over and guard thy lev with all diligence;
\q for out of it are the totze'ot chayyim \add (issues, wellsprings of life)\add*.\f + \fr 4:23 \fr*\ft cf \+xt Mk 7:20-23\+xt*\ft*\f*
\q
\v 24 Put away from thee a deceitful peh \add (mouth)\add*,
\q and perverse sfatayim \add (lips)\add* put far from thee.
\q
\v 25 Let thine eynayim look straight forward,
\q and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
\q
\v 26 Ponder the ma'agal \add (path)\add* of thy raglayim,
\q and let all thy drakhim be firm.
\q
\v 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left;
\q remove thy regel from rah.\f + \fr 4:27 \fr*\ft T.N. Everyone in life has two paths to choose from just as Moshiach Tzidkeinu spoke of two gates, a wide one crowded with traffic and leading to destruction, and another one found by few but leading to life and redemption — \ft*\xt Mt 7:13-14\xt*\f*
\c 5
\q
\v 1 Beni \add (my son)\add*, attend unto my chochmah,
\q and bow thine ozen to my tevunah \add (understanding)\add*;
\q
\v 2 That thou mayest regard mezimah \add (discretion)\add*,
\q and that thy sfatayim \add (lips)\add* may keep da'as \add (knowledge)\add*.
\q
\v 3 For the sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of a zarah \add (strange woman)\add* drip as a honeycomb,
\q and her mouth is smoother than shemen \add (olive oil)\add*;
\q
\v 4 But her end is marah \add (bitter)\add* as wormwood,
\q sharp as a two-edged cherev.
\q
\v 5 Her raglayim go down to mavet;
\q her steps lead to Sheol.
\q
\v 6 Lest thou shouldest compare [hers] to the orach chayyim,
\q her ma'agalot \add (paths)\add* are crooked, that thou canst not know them.
\b
\q
\v 7 Hear me now therefore, O ye banim,
\q and turn not from the words of my peh \add (mouth)\add*.
\q
\v 8 Remove thy derech far from her,
\q and come not near the petach \add (doorway)\add* of her bais;
\q
\v 9 Lest thou give thine hod \add (strength)\add* unto others,
\q and thy shanim unto the cruel one;
\q
\v 10 Lest zarim \add (strangers)\add* be filled with thy koach;
\q and thy toilings be in the bais nochri;
\q
\v 11 And thou mourn at the acharit \add (last, latter end, future)\add*,
\q when thy basar and thy body are consumed,
\q
\v 12 And say, How have I hated musar,
\q and my lev spurned tokhakhat \add (reproof)\add*;
\q
\v 13 And have not obeyed the voice of my morim \add (teachers)\add*,
\q nor inclined mine ear to the ones who were my melamed!
\q
\v 14 I was at the brink of all rah \add (evil, ruin)\add*
\q in the midst of the kahal \add (congregation)\add* and edah \add (assembly)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 15 Drink mayim out of thine own bor \add (cistern)\add*,
\q and running waters out of thine own well.
\q
\v 16 Should thy fountains be dispersed abroad,
\q and channels of mayim in the rekhovot \add (town squares)\add*?
\q
\v 17 Let them be only thine own,
\q and never zarim \add (strangers)\add* with thee.
\q
\v 18 Let thy makor \add (fountain)\add* be blessed;
\q and rejoice with the isha of thy youth.
\q
\v 19 Let her be as the loving deer and graceful doe;
\q let her breasts satisfy thee at all times;
\q and be thou enraptured tamid \add (ever)\add* with ahavat \add (love of)\add* her.
\q
\v 20 And why wilt thou, beni \add (my son)\add*, be intoxicated with a zarah \add (strange woman)\add*,
\q and embrace the kheyk \add (bosom)\add* of a nochriyah \add (foreign [heathen] woman)\add*?
\q
\v 21 For the drakhim ish are before the eyes of \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q and He pondereth all his ma'agalot \add (paths)\add*.
\q
\v 22 His own avonot shall entrap the rashah himself,
\q and he shall be held fast by the cords of his chattat.
\q
\v 23 He shall die without musar;
\q and in the greatness of his folly he shall be led astray.
\c 6
\q
\v 1 Beni \add (my son)\add*, if thou put up collateral for thy re'a,
\q if thou hast shaken hands in pledge with a zar \add (stranger)\add*,
\q
\v 2 Thou art snared with the words of thy peh \add (mouth)\add*,
\q thou art trapped with the words of thy peh \add (mouth)\add*.
\q
\v 3 Do this now, beni \add (my son)\add*, and deliver thyself,
\q since thou art come into the palm of thy re'a;
\q go, humble thyself, and plead with thy re'a.
\q
\v 4 Give not sheynah to thine eyes,
\q nor slumber to thine eyelids.
\q
\v 5 Deliver thyself as a gazelle from the yad,\f + \fr 6:5 \fr*\ft of the hunter\ft*\f*
\q and as a tzippor \add (bird)\add* from the yad of the fowler.
\b
\q
\v 6 Go to the nemalah \add (ant)\add*, thou atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add*;
\q consider her drakhim \add (ways)\add*, and be chacham \add (wise)\add*;
\q
\v 7 Which having no katzin \add (officer, leader)\add*
\q or shoter \add (policeman)\add* or moshel,
\q
\v 8 Prepareth her lechem in the kayitz \add (summer)\add*,
\q and gathereth her food in the katzir \add (harvest)\add*.
\q
\v 9 Ad mosai wilt thou lie down, O atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add*?
\q When wilt thou arise out of thy sheynah \add (sleep)\add*?
\q
\v 10 Yet a little sheynot \add (sleep )\add*,\f + \fr 6:10 \fr*\ft pl.\ft*\f* a little slumber,
\q a little folding of the yadayim to sleep;
\q
\v 11 So shall thy poverty come as a prowler,
\q and thy need as an ish mogen \add (man of armor)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
\q walketh with a perverse peh \add (mouth)\add*.
\q
\v 13 He winketh with his eyes, he shuffleth with his regel,
\q he pointeth with his fingers;
\q
\v 14 Tahpukhot \add (perversity)\add* is in his lev,
\q he deviseth rah continually;
\q he stirs up midanim \add (contention, strife, discord)\add*.\f + \fr 6:14 \fr*\ft pl.\ft*\f*
\q
\v 15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly;
\q suddenly shall he be destroyed without marpeh \add (remedy)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 16 These shesh \add (six)\add* things doth \nd Hashem\nd* hate;
\q indeed, shevah \add (seven)\add* are an abomination unto His Nefesh;
\q
\v 17 Haughty eyes, a lashon sheker,
\q and hands guilty of shefach dahm naki,
\q
\v 18 A lev that deviseth wicked machshevot \add (plans)\add*,
\q raglayim that are swift in running to ra'ah,
\q
\v 19 An ed sheker that speaketh lies,
\q and he that soweth midanim \add (contention, strife, discords)\add* among achim.
\b
\q
\v 20 Beni \add (my son)\add*, keep the mitzvat Avicha,
\q and forsake not the torat Immecha;
\q
\v 21 Bind them tamid \add (continually)\add* upon thine lev,
\q and tie them about thy neck.
\q
\v 22 When thou goest, it shall guide thee;
\q when thou sleepest, it shall be shomer over thee;
\q and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
\q
\v 23 For the mitzvah is a ner \add (lamp)\add*; and torah an ohr;
\q and tokhakhot musar \add (reproofs of discipline)\add* are the Derech Chayyim \add (Life Lane)\add*;
\q
\v 24 To be shomer over thee, keeping thee from the eshet rah,
\q from the smooth lashon of the nokhriyah \add (strange woman)\add*.
\q
\v 25 Lust not after her beauty in thine lev;
\q neither let her allure thee with her eyelids.
\q
\v 26 For by means of an isha zonah a man is reduced to a kikar lechem;
\q and [another] manʼs wife will prey on the nefesh yekara \add (precious soul)\add*.
\q
\v 27 Can a man take eish in his kheyk,
\q and his clothes not be burned?
\q
\v 28 Can one walk upon hot coals,
\q and his regel not be burned?
\q
\v 29 So is he that goeth into his eshet re'a;
\q whosoever toucheth her shall not go unpunished.
\q
\v 30 Men do not despise a ganav if he steal
\q to satisfy his nefesh when he is starving;
\q
\v 31 But if he be found out, he shall restore sevenfold;
\q he shall give hon \add (substance, wealth)\add* of his bais;
\q
\v 32 But the no'ef \add (one who committeth adultery)\add* with an isha lacketh lev;\f + \fr 6:32 \fr*\ft of understanding\ft*\f*
\q he that doeth it destroyeth his own nefesh.
\q
\v 33 A nega\f + \fr 6:33 \fr*\ft See \+xt Isa 53:8\+xt* for Moshiachʼs nega taken for unfaithful Israel\ft*\f* and dishonor shall he get;
\q and his cherpah \add (reproach)\add* shall not be wiped away.
\q
\v 34 For kina \add (jealousy)\add* is the chamat gever \add (husbandʼs rage)\add*;
\q therefore he will not spare in the yom nakam \add (day of vengeance)\add*.
\q
\v 35 He will not regard kofer \add (compensation)\add*;
\q neither will he be the appeased, though shochad \add (bribe)\add* be great.
\c 7
\q
\v 1 Beni \add (my son)\add*, be shomer over my words,
\q and treasure up my mitzvot with thee.
\q
\v 2 Be shomer over my mitzvot, and live,
\q and over my torah as the apple of thine eye.
\q
\v 3 Bind them upon thy fingers,
\q write them upon the luach \add (tablet)\add* of thine lev.
\q
\v 4 Say unto chochmah, Thou art my achot;
\q and call binah \add (understanding)\add* thy kinsman;
\q
\v 5 That they may be shomer over thee and keep thee from the zarah,
\q from the nokhriyah with her smooth words.
\b
\q
\v 6 For at the chalon \add (window)\add* of my bais
\q I looked through my lattice,
\q
\v 7 And beheld among the simple ones,
\q I discerned among the banim,
\q a na'ar \add (young man)\add* devoid of lev,\f + \fr 7:7 \fr*\ft of understanding, sense\ft*\f*
\q
\v 8 Passing through the street near her corner;
\q and he went on the derech to her bais,
\q
\v 9 In the twilight, at erev,
\q in the black and dark lailah;
\q
\v 10 And, hinei, there met him an isha
\q with the attire of a zonah,
\q and crafty of lev
\q
\v 11 — She is loud and soreret \add (rebellious, defiant)\add*;
\q her raglayim abide not in her bais;
\q
\v 12 Now is she without, now in the rechovot,
\q and lurketh in wait at every pinnah \add (corner)\add* —
\q
\v 13 So she caught hold of him, and kissed him,
\q and with a brazen ponem said unto him,
\q
\v 14 I have zivkhei shelamim vowed;
\q this yom have I payed my neder.
\q
\v 15 Al ken \add (therefore)\add* came I forth to meet thee,
\q diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
\q
\v 16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry,
\q with a bedspread of fine linen of Mitzrayim.
\q
\v 17 I have perfumed my mishkav \add (bed)\add*
\q with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
\q
\v 18 Come, let us take our fill of dodim \add (loves)\add* until boker;
\q let us delight ourselves with ahavim \add (loves)\add*.\f + \fr 7:18 \fr*\ft pl. of intensity\ft*\f*
\q
\v 19 For the ish \add (man)\add*,\f + \fr 7:19 \fr*\ft i.e., husband\ft*\f* is not b'bais,
\q he is gone a derech merachok \add (distant journey)\add*;
\q
\v 20 He hath taken a bag of kesef with him,
\q and will come back to his bais at the appointed time.
\q
\v 21 By her enticing speech she caused him to yield,
\q with the smoothness of her sfatayim she seduced him.
\q
\v 22 He goeth after her and followeth immediately,
\q as a shor \add (ox)\add* goeth to tavach \add (stock yard, slaughter-house)\add*,
\q or as if bound with fetters to the musar \add (punishment)\add* of the fool;
\q
\v 23 Till a khetz \add (arrow)\add* strike through his liver;
\q as a tzippor hasteth to the pach \add (snare)\add*,
\q and knoweth not that it is for his nefesh \add (life)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 24 Pay heed unto me now therefore, O ye banim,
\q and attend to the words of my peh \add (mouth)\add*.
\q
\v 25 Let not thine lev turn aside to her drakhim;
\q go not astray in her netivot \add (trodden paths)\add*.
\q
\v 26 For she hath cast down many chalalim \add (wounded)\add*;
\q indeed, many strong men have been slain by her.
\q
\v 27 Her bais is the drakhei Sheol,
\q going down to the chadarim \add (chambers, rooms)\add* of mavet \add (death)\add*.\f + \fr 7:27 \fr*\ft T.N. The off-stage character here in chapter 7 has been the cuckold. Because of her Ba'al affair, \+nd Hashem\+nd* became the cuckold of Israel even as Hosea became the cuckold of Gomer.\ft*\f*
\c 8
\q
\v 1 Doth not Chochmah cry out?
\q And Tevunah \add (understanding)\add* put forth her voice?
\q
\v 2 In the top of high hills, beside the derech \add (road)\add*,
\q in the bais netivot \add (meeting place of trodden paths, crossroads)\add* nitzavah (she\f + \fr 8:2 \fr*\ft Lady Wisdom, the lady street preacher\ft*\f* stands).
\q
\v 3 She crieth out at the she'arim \add (gates)\add*, at the entry of the city,
\q at the entrance at the petachim \add (doorways)\add*:
\q
\v 4 Unto you, O ishim, I call out;
\q and my voice is to the Bnei Adam.
\q
\v 5 O ye simple ones, understand armah \add (prudence)\add*;
\q and, ye kesilim, understand in your lev.
\q
\v 6 Hear; for I will speak negidim \add (noble things, worthy [words])\add*;
\q and the opening of my sfatayim \add (lips)\add* shall be meisharim \add (upright, fair things)\add*.
\q
\v 7 For my mouth shall speak emes;
\q and resha is an abomination to my sfatayim \add (lips)\add*.
\q
\v 8 All the words of my peh \add (mouth)\add* are in tzedek;
\q there is nothing crooked or perverse in them.
\q
\v 9 They are all correct to him that discerneth,
\q and yesharim \add (straight ones)\add* to them that find da'as \add (knowledge)\add*.
\q
\v 10 Receive my musar, and not kesef;
\q and da'as \add (knowledge)\add* rather than choice gold.
\q
\v 11 For chochmah is tovah \add (better, more precious)\add* than pearls;
\q and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
\b
\q
\v 12 I, Chochmah, dwell with armah \add (prudence)\add*,
\q and find out da'as \add (knowledge)\add* of mezimot \add (discretions)\add*.
\q
\v 13 The Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* is to hate rah;
\q pride, and ga'on \add (arrogance)\add*, and the derech rah,
\q and the perverse peh \add (mouth)\add*, do I hate.
\q
\v 14 Etzah \add (counsel, advice)\add* is mine, and sound judgment;
\q I am binah; I have gevurah.
\q
\v 15 By me melachim reign,
\q and nobles decree tzedek.
\q
\v 16 By me sarim \add (princes)\add* rule, and nobles,
\q even all the shofetim of tzedek.
\q
\v 17 I love them that have ahavah for me;
\q and those that seek me shall find me.
\q
\v 18 Osher and kavod are with me;
\q indeed, enduring hon \add (wealth)\add* and tzedakah.
\q
\v 19 My p'ri is better than gold, indeed, than fine gold;
\q and my revenue than choice kesef.
\q
\v 20 I walk in the orach tzedakah \add (way of righteousness)\add*,
\q in the midst of the netivot \add (paths)\add* of mishpat,
\q
\v 21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance;
\q and I will fill their otzarot.
\b
\q
\v 22 \nd Hashem\nd* possessed\f + \fr 8:22 \fr*\ft “By examining the total range of attestation of the verb Kuf Nun Heh in West Semitic we have been able to discover that the correct translation of the epithet ‘Kuf Nun Heh ARETZ’ is ‘Owner/Possessor of the land,’ not ‘Creator’ or ‘Begetter.’ The common assumption that Kuf Nun Heh in West Semitic means ‘to create’ is actually a scholarly heritage of interpretation related to a few select biblical passages going all the way back to the Septuagint translation, which has colored and shaped the way that Northwest Semitic inscriptions in our time have been read and understood” (from the article אל קנה ארץ: Creator, Begetter, or Owner of the Earth?) See \+jmp https: // www.religionofancientpalestine.com/?page_id=544\+jmp*\ft*\f* me in the reshit of His derech,
\q before His works of old.
\q
\v 23 I was set up [to reign] me'olam \add (from eternity)\add*,
\q from the beginning, or ever eretz was.
\q
\v 24 When there were no tehomot,
\q I was brought forth;
\q when there were no springs abounding with mayim.
\q
\v 25 Before the harim were settled,
\q before the geva'ot \add (hills)\add* was I brought forth;
\q
\v 26 While as yet He had not made eretz, nor the outer places,
\q nor the beginning of the dust of the tevel.
\q
\v 27 When He set in place Shomayim, I was there;
\q when He drew a khoog \add (circle, horizon)\add* upon the face of the tehom,
\q
\v 28 When He established the clouds above,
\q when He strengthened the fountains of the tehom,
\q
\v 29 When He gave to the yam His chok \add (decree, limits)\add*,
\q that the mayim should not pass its limits,
\q when He appointed the foundations of the Eretz;
\q
\v 30 Then I was etzel \add (at the side of, beside)\add*\f + \fr 8:30 \fr*\ft See \+xt Yn 1:1\+xt*\ft*\f* Him,
\q as an Amon \add (master craftsman, builder, architect, artist)\add*;
\q and I was daily His delight,
\q rejoicing always before Him;\f + \fr 8:30 \fr*\ft \+xt Prov 30:4\+xt*\ft*\f*
\q
\v 31 Rejoicing in the tevel of His Eretz;
\q and my delights were with the Bnei Adam.
\b
\q
\v 32 Now therefore pay heed unto me, O ye banim;
\q for ashrei \add (blessed, happy)\add* are they that are shomer over my drakhim.
\q
\v 33 Hear musar, and be chacham,
\q and disdain it not.
\q
\v 34 Ashrei is adam that heareth me,
\q watching daily at my dalatot,
\q waiting at the mezuzot of my doors.
\q
\v 35 For whosoever findeth me findeth Chayyim,
\q and shall obtain ratzon \nd Hashem\nd*.
\q
\v 36 But he that sinneth against me doth chamas against his own nefesh;
\q all they that hate me love mavet.
\c 9
\q
\v 1 Chochmah hath built her bais,
\q she hath hewn out her seven ammudim;
\q
\v 2 She hath prepared her meat;
\q she hath mixed her yayin; she hath also set her shulchan.
\q
\v 3 She hath sent forth her na'arot;
\q she calleth from the highest points of the city;
\q
\v 4 Whosoever is simple, let him turn in here;
\q as for him that lacketh lev \add (a heart of understanding)\add*, she saith to him,
\q
\v 5 Come, eat of my lechem,
\q and drink of the yayin which I have mixed.\f + \fr 9:5 \fr*\ft \+xt Yn 6:53-54\+xt*\ft*\f*
\q
\v 6 Forsake the simple ways, and live;
\q and go in the derech binah.
\b
\q
\v 7 He that reproveth a letz \add (mocker)\add* getteth to himself shame,
\q and he that is a mochiach \add (reprover)\add* of a wicked man getteth himself a blot stain.
\q
\v 8 Reprove not a letz, lest he hate thee;
\q rebuke a chacham, and he will love thee.
\q
\v 9 Give instruction to a chacham, and he will be yet wiser;
\q teach a tzaddik, and he will increase in learning.
\q
\v 10 The Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* is the beginning of chochmah,
\q and the da'as Kedoshim \add (knowledge of the Holy One)\add* is binah \add (understanding)\add*.
\q
\v 11 For by me thy yamim shall be multiplied,
\q and shanot chayyim shall be increased to thee.
\q
\v 12 If thou be chacham, thou shalt be wise for thyself,
\q but if thou mockest, thou alone shalt suffer.
\b
\q
\v 13 Aishes Kesilut \add (Dame Folly)\add* is clamorous;
\q she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
\q
\v 14 For she sitteth at the petach \add (doorway)\add* of her bais,
\q on a seat in the high places of the city,
\q
\v 15 To call those passing on the derech \add (road)\add*
\q who go straight on their way:
\q
\v 16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in here,
\q and as for him that lacketh lev \add (heart of understanding)\add*, she saith to him:
\q
\v 17 Stolen waters are sweet,
\q and lechem eaten in secret is pleasant.
\q
\v 18 But he has no da'as that the dead ones are there;
\q and that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
\c 10
\p
\v 1 The mishle \add (proverbs)\add* of Sh'lomo.
\b
\q A ben chacham maketh glad an av,
\q but a ben kesil is the grief of his em.
\q
\v 2 Otzarot resha profit nothing,
\q but tzedakah \add (righteousness)\add* saveth from mavet.
\q
\v 3 \nd Hashem\nd* will not suffer the nefesh of the tzaddik to famish,
\q but He thwarteth the craving of the resha'im.
\q
\v 4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a negligent palm,
\q but the yad of the diligent maketh wealth.
\q
\v 5 He that gathereth in kayitz is a ben maskil \add (son of wisdom)\add*,
\q but he that sleepeth in katzir \add (harvest)\add* is a ben that causeth shame.
\q
\v 6 Brakhot are upon the head of the tzaddik,
\q but chamas covereth the peh \add (mouth)\add* of the resha'im.
\q
\v 7 The memory of the tzaddik is as bracha,
\q but the shem resha'im shall rot.
\q
\v 8 The chacham lev will receive mitzvot,
\q but one with foolish sfatayim \add (lips)\add* shall be thrust down.
\q
\v 9 He that walketh uprightly walketh securely,
\q but he that perverteth his drakhim shall be known.
\q
\v 10 He that winketh with the ayin causeth trouble,
\q but one with foolish sfatayim shall come to ruin.
\q
\v 11 The peh \add (mouth)\add* of a tzaddik is a Makor Chayyim,
\q but chamas covereth the peh \add (mouth)\add* of the resha'im.
\q
\v 12 Sin'ah \add (hatred)\add* stirreth up medanim \add (dissensions)\add*,
\q but ahavah covereth all peysha'im.
\q
\v 13 In the sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of him that hath understanding
\q chochmah is found,
\q but a shevet \add (rod)\add* is for the back of him
\q that is devoid of lev.\f + \fr 10:13 \fr*\ft understanding\ft*\f*
\q
\v 14 Chachamim treasure up da'as \add (knowledge)\add*;
\q but the peh \add (mouth)\add* of the foolish is near destruction.
\q
\v 15 The oisherʼs wealth is his strong city;
\q the destruction of the poor ones is their poverty.
\q
\v 16 The wage of the tzaddik leadeth to Chayyim;
\q the wage of the rashah is for chattat.\f + \fr 10:16 \fr*\ft \+xt Ro 6:23\+xt*\ft*\f*
\q
\v 17 He is in the orach \add (path)\add* of Chayyim that is shomer over musar,
\q but he that abandoneth tokhakhat \add (reproof)\add* goes astray.
\q
\v 18 He that hideth sin'ah with sfatayim sheker,
\q and he that uttereth a slander, is a kesil \add (fool)\add*.
\q
\v 19 In the multitude of devarim there wanteth not sin,
\q but he that restraineth his sfatayim \add (lips)\add* is maskil \add (wise)\add*.
\q
\v 20 The lashon of the tzaddik is as choice kesef;
\q the lev of the resha'im is of little worth.
\q
\v 21 The sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of the tzaddik feed rabbim \add (many)\add*,
\q but fools die for lack of lev.\f + \fr 10:21 \fr*\ft of chochmah\ft*\f*
\q
\v 22 The Birkat \nd Hashem\nd*, it maketh wealthy,
\q and He addeth no sorrow with it.
\q
\v 23 It is as sport to a kesil to do zimmah \add (evil design)\add*,
\q but an ish tevunah \add (man of understanding)\add* hath chochmah.
\q
\v 24 What the rashah dreads, it shall come upon him,
\q but the ta'avat tzaddikim shall be granted.
\q
\v 25 As the whirlwind passeth, so is the rashah no more,
\q but the tzaddik is a yesod olam \add (an everlasting foundation)\add*.
\q
\v 26 As chometz to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes,
\q so is the atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* to them that send him.
\q
\v 27 The Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* prolongeth yamim;
\q but the shanot of the resha'im shall be cut short.
\q
\v 28 The prospect of the tzaddikim shall be simchah,
\q but the tikveh of the resha'im shall perish.
\q
\v 29 The Derech \nd Hashem\nd* is maoz to the blameless,
\q but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
\q
\v 30 The tzaddik shall never be removed,
\q but the resha'im shall not inhabit Eretz.
\q
\v 31 The peh \add (mouth)\add* of the tzaddik bringeth forth chochmah,
\q but the lashon tahpukhot \add (tongue of perversion, distortion)\add* shall be cut off.
\q
\v 32 The sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of the tzaddik know what is ratzon \add (acceptable)\add*,
\q but the peh \add (mouth)\add* of the resha'im speaketh tahpukhot \add (perversity)\add*.
\c 11
\q
\v 1 A balance of mirmah \add (dishonesty, deception)\add* is abomination to \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q but an even shelemah \add (perfect stone, just weight)\add* is His ratzon.
\q
\v 2 When zadon \add (pride)\add* cometh, then cometh kalon \add (shame, disgrace)\add*,
\q but with the humble is chochmah.
\q
\v 3 The integrity of the yesharim \add (upright ones)\add* shall guide them,
\q but the deceit of the bogedim \add (treacherous ones)\add* shall destroy them.
\q
\v 4 Hon \add (riches)\add* profit not in the yom evrah \add (day of wrath)\add*,
\q but tzedakah \add (righteousness)\add* delivereth from mavet.
\q
\v 5 The tzidkat tamim \add (righteousness of the blameless)\add* shall make his derech straight,
\q but the rasha shall fall by his own evil.
\q
\v 6 The tzidkat yesharim shall deliver them,
\q but bogedim \add (treacherous ones)\add* shall be caught in their own evil desire.
\q
\v 7 At the mot adam rasha, his tikveh shall perish,
\q and the expectation of his\f + \fr 11:7 \fr*\ft surviving\ft*\f* strong ones perisheth.
\q
\v 8 The tzaddik is delivered out of tzoros,
\q but the rashah cometh on to take his place.
\q
\v 9 A chanef \add (hypocrite, man without G-d)\add* with his peh \add (mouth)\add* destroyeth his re'a,
\q but through da'as \add (knowledge)\add* shall the tzaddikim be delivered.
\q
\v 10 When it goeth well with the tzaddikim, the city rejoiceth,
\q and when the resha'im perish, there is rinnah \add (joyful shouting)\add*.
\q
\v 11 By the birkat yesharim the city is exalted,
\q but it is overthrown by the peh \add (mouth)\add* of the resha'im.
\q
\v 12 He that is devoid of lev\f + \fr 11:12 \fr*\ft of understanding\ft*\f* despiseth his re'a,
\q but an ish tevunot holdeth his peace.
\q
\v 13 A bringer of rekhil \add (gossip)\add*,\f + \fr 11:13 \fr*\ft rekhilut\ft*\f* revealeth sod \add (secrets, confidences)\add*,
\q but he that is of a ne'eman ruach concealeth the matter.
\q
\v 14 Where no strategic policy is, the nation falls,
\q but in the multitude of yoetz \add (counsellors, advisors)\add* there is teshu'ah \add (victory, safety)\add*.
\q
\v 15 He that is guaranty for a zar shall suffer for it,
\q and he that hateth pledging collateral is secure.
\q
\v 16 An eshet chen retaineth kavod \add (honor, respect)\add*,
\q but ruthless men retain osher.
\q
\v 17 The ish chesed \add (merciful man)\add* doeth good to his own nefesh,
\q but he that is cruel harmeth his own self.
\q
\v 18 The reshah worketh a wage of sheker,
\q but to him that soweth tzedakah \add (righteousness)\add* shall be a sachar emes \add (sure reward)\add*.
\q
\v 19 As tzedakah \add (righteousness)\add* leadeth to Chayyim,
\q so he that pursueth ra'ah pursueth it to his own mot \add (death)\add*.
\q
\v 20 They that are of a perverse lev are an abomination to \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q but such as are upright in their derech are His delight.
\q
\v 21 Though yad join in yad,
\q rah shall not go unpunished,
\q but the zera of the tzaddikim shall be delivered.
\q
\v 22 As a ring of zahav in the snout of a chazir,
\q so is an isha yafah which is without ta'am \add (judgment, discretion)\add*.
\q
\v 23 The ta'avat tzaddikim is only tov,
\q but the tikveh of the resha'im is wrath.
\q
\v 24 There is that which scattereth, and yet increaseth more;
\q and there is that which withholdeth more than is yosher, but it leadeth to machsor \add (want, need, poverty)\add*.
\q
\v 25 The nefesh berakhah \add (generous person)\add* shall be made to prosper,
\q and he that watereth shall be refreshed also himself.
\q
\v 26 He that withholdeth grain, the people shall curse him,
\q but brocha shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
\q
\v 27 He that diligently seeketh tov procureth ratzon,
\q but he that seeketh ra'ah, it shall come unto him.
\q
\v 28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall;
\q but the tzaddik shall flourish like the green leaf.
\q
\v 29 He that troubleth his own bais shall inherit the ruach \add (wind)\add*,
\q and the fool shall be eved to the chacham lev.
\q
\v 30 The p'ri tzedek is Etz Chayyim,
\q and he that winneth nefashot is chacham \add (wise)\add*.
\q
\v 31 If the tzaddik are recompensed on ha'aretz \add (the earth)\add*,
\q much more the rashah and the choteh \add (sinner)\add*.
\c 12
\q
\v 1 He who loveth musar loveth da'as,
\q but he that hateth tokhakhat \add (reproof, correction)\add* is ba'ar \add (a boorish, ignorant person)\add*.
\q
\v 2 A tov \add (good man)\add* obtaineth ratzon \add (favor)\add* from \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q but an ish mezimor \add (a man of crafty devices)\add* will He condemn.
\q
\v 3 An adam shall not be made secure by resha,
\q but the shoresh tzaddikim \add (root of the righteous ones)\add* shall not be moved.\f + \fr 12:3 \fr*\ft T.N. Cf \+xt 12:4\+xt* and \+xt 31:10\+xt*.\ft*\f*
\q
\v 4 An aishes chayil \add (a woman of valor, an excellent wife)\add* is an ateret to her ba'al,
\q but she that bringeth shame is like rottenness in his atzmot.
\q
\v 5 The thoughts of the tzaddikim are right,
\q but the tachbulot \add (guidance)\add* of the resha'im are mirmah \add (deceitful)\add*.
\q
\v 6 The devarim of the resha'im are to lie in wait for dahm,
\q but the peh \add (mouth)\add* of the yesharim \add (upright ones)\add* shall deliver them.
\q
\v 7 The resha'im are overthrown, and are no more,
\q but the bais tzaddikim shall stand.
\q
\v 8 An ish shall be commended according to his seichel,
\q but he that is of a perverse mind shall be despised.
\q
\v 9 He that is lightly esteemed, and hath an eved,
\q is better than he that honoreth himself, and lacketh lechem.
\q
\v 10 A tzaddik regardeth the nefesh \add (life)\add* of his behemah \add (beast)\add*,
\q but the compassion of the resha'im is cruel.
\q
\v 11 He that worketh his adamah shall be satisfied with lechem,
\q but he that chaseth after worthless persons is devoid of lev.\f + \fr 12:11 \fr*\ft of understanding\ft*\f*
\q
\v 12 The resha coveteth the catch of ra'im \add (evil men)\add*,
\q but the shoresh \add (root)\add* of the tzaddikim yieldeth fruit.
\q
\v 13 The rah is ensnared by the peysha \add (transgression)\add* of his sfatayim \add (lips)\add*,
\q but the tzaddik shall escape from tzoros.
\q
\v 14 An ish shall be filled with tov by the fruit of his peh \add (mouth)\add*,
\q and the recompence of the hands of adam shall be rendered unto him.
\q
\v 15 The derech of a fool is yashar \add (right)\add* in his own eynayim,
\q but he that payeth heed unto etzah is chacham \add (wise)\add*.
\q
\v 16 A foolʼs wrath is known immediately,
\q but a prudent man covereth kalon \add (shame, disgrace, shameful nakedness)\add*.
\q
\v 17 He that speaketh emunah declareth tzedek,
\q but an ed shekarim, mirmah.
\q
\v 18 There is one who speaketh rash words like the wounding of a cherev,
\q but the lashon of the chachamim promotes marpeh \add (healing)\add*.
\q
\v 19 The lip of emes shall be established forever,
\q but a lashon sheker is but for a moment.
\q
\v 20 Mirmah \add (deceit)\add* is in the lev of them that plot rah,
\q but to the counsellors of shalom is simchah.
\q
\v 21 There shall no harm befall the tzaddik,
\q but the resha'im shall be filled with rah.
\q
\v 22 Sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of sheker are to'evah to \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q but they that deal emunah \add (faithfully, truthfully)\add* are His delight.
\q
\v 23 A prudent man concealeth da'as,
\q but the lev kesilim \add (mind of fools)\add* preaches folly.
\q
\v 24 The yad of the kharutzim \add (diligent ones)\add* shall rule,
\q but the remiyyah \add (deceitfully lazy man)\add* shall be put to forced labor.
\q
\v 25 Anxiety in the lev ish causeth depression,
\q but a davar tov cheers it up.
\q
\v 26 The tzaddik prevaileth advantageously over his neighbor,
\q but the derech resha'im leads them astray.
\q
\v 27 The remiyyah \add (deceitfully lazy man)\add* roasteth not that which he took in hunting,
\q but diligence is the precious possession of man.
\q
\v 28 In the orach tzedakah \add (way of righteousness)\add* is chayyim,
\q and in the derech netivot \add (pathway)\add* thereof there is no mavet.
\c 13
\q
\v 1 A ben chacham heareth his musar av,
\q but a scoffer heareth not ge'arah \add (scolding, rebuke)\add*.
\q
\v 2 An ish shall eat tov by the fruit of his peh \add (mouth)\add*,
\q but the nefesh of the bogedim \add (unfaithful ones, traitors)\add* shall eat chamas.
\q
\v 3 He that is shomer over his peh \add (mouth)\add* guards his nefesh,
\q but he that openeth wide his sfatayim \add (lips)\add* shall have ruin.
\q
\v 4 The nefesh of the atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* desireth, and hath nothing,
\q but the nefesh of the kharutzim \add (diligent ones)\add* shall have ample provision.
\q
\v 5 A tzaddik hateth sheker,
\q but a wicked man is shamefully loathsome, and bringeth disgrace.
\q
\v 6 Tzedakah is guard over him whose derech is blameless,
\q but wickedness overthroweth the chattat \add (sinner)\add*.
\q
\v 7 There is one who maketh himself out to be rich, yet hath nothing;
\q there is one that maketh himself out to be poor, yet hath hon rav \add (great wealth)\add*.
\q
\v 8 The riches of an ish is kofer \add (ransom)\add* for his nefesh \add (life)\add*,
\q but the poor heareth no threat.
\q
\v 9 The ohr \add (light)\add* of the tzaddik rejoiceth,
\q but the ner \add (lamp)\add* of the resha'im \add (wicked)\add* shall be put out.
\q
\v 10 By zadon \add (pride)\add* cometh only contention,
\q but with the teachable is chochmah.
\q
\v 11 Hon \add (wealth)\add* gotten by dishonesty shall be diminished,
\q but he that gathereth incrementally shall have an increment.
\q
\v 12 Hope deferred maketh the lev sick,
\q but when the ta'avah \add (desire)\add* cometh, it is an Etz Chayyim \add (Tree of Life)\add*.
\q
\v 13 He who despiseth the davar shall be destroyed,
\q but he that feareth the mitzvah shall be rewarded.
\q
\v 14 The torat chacham \add (teaching of the wise)\add* is a makor chayyim \add (fountain of life)\add*,
\q to turn one away from the snares of mavet.
\q
\v 15 Seichel tov giveth favor,
\q but the derech bogedim \add (way of traitors)\add* is hard.
\q
\v 16 Every prudent man acts with da'as,
\q but a kesil \add (fool)\add* displays his folly.
\q
\v 17 A malach rasha falleth into rah \add (trouble)\add*,
\q but a tzir emunim \add (trustworthy envoy)\add* is marpeh \add (healing)\add*.
\q
\v 18 Poverty and shame shall be to him that disdains musar,
\q but he that is shomer over tokhakhat \add (reproof)\add* shall be honored.
\q
\v 19 The ta'avah \add (desire, longing)\add* fulfilled is sweet to the nefesh,
\q but it is to'evat kesilim \add (the abomination of fools)\add* to depart from rah.
\q
\v 20 He that walketh with chachamim shall be wise,
\q but a companion of kesilim \add (fools)\add* shall come to harm.
\q
\v 21 Ra'ah \add (disaster)\add* pursueth chatta'im \add (sinners)\add*,
\q but tov is the reward of the tzaddikim.
\q
\v 22 A tov \add (good man)\add* leaveth an inheritance to his bnei banim,
\q and the wealth of the choteh \add (sinner)\add* is laid up for the tzaddik.
\q
\v 23 Rav ochel \add (much food)\add* is in the untilled ground of the poor,
\q but for want of mishpat \add (justice)\add* it is swept away.
\q
\v 24 He that spareth his shevet \add (rod)\add* hateth bno \add (his son)\add*,
\q but he that loveth him is diligent in his musar \add (discipline)\add*.
\q
\v 25 The tzaddik \add (righteous)\add* eateth to the satisfying of his nefesh \add (soul)\add*,
\q but the beten \add (stomach)\add* of the resha'im shall want.
\c 14
\q
\v 1 Chachmot nashim buildeth her bais,
\q but the foolish pulleth it down with her hands.
\q
\v 2 He that walketh in his yashar feareth \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q but he that is devious in his drakhim despiseth Him.
\q
\v 3 In the peh \add (mouth)\add* of the fool is a rod of ga'avah \add (pride)\add*,
\q but the sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of the chachamim shall be shomer over them and preserve them.
\q
\v 4 Where no oxen are, the evus \add (feeding trough)\add* is clean,
\q but much increase is by the ko'ach of the shor \add (ox)\add*.
\q
\v 5 An ed emunim will not lie,
\q but an ed sheker will utter lies.
\q
\v 6 A scoffer seeketh chochmah, and findeth it not,
\q but da'as cometh easily unto him that is discerning.
\q
\v 7 Go from the presence of an ish kesil,
\q when thou perceivest not in him the sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of da'as \add (knowledge)\add*.
\q
\v 8 The chochmah of the prudent is to understand his derech,
\q but the folly of kesilim is mirmah \add (deceit)\add*.
\q
\v 9 Fools mock at guilt,
\q but among the yesharim \add (upright ones)\add* there is ratzon \add (favor)\add*.
\q
\v 10 The lev knoweth its own bitterness,
\q and a zar \add (stranger)\add* doth not share its simchah.
\q
\v 11 The bais of the resha'im shall be shmad,
\q but the ohel of the yesharim shall flourish.
\q
\v 12 There is a derech \add (road)\add* which seemeth yashar \add (right)\add* unto an ish,
\q but the acharit \add (latter end, future)\add* thereof are the drakhim of mavet.
\q
\v 13 Even in sekhok \add (laughter)\add* the lev is sad,
\q and the acharit \add (latter end)\add* of that simchah is grief.
\q
\v 14 The sug \add (backslider, faithless one)\add* in lev is filled with his own drakhim \add (roads)\add*,
\q but an ish tov shall be satisfied from above himself.
\q
\v 15 The naive believeth every davar,
\q but the prudent looketh with care to his steps.
\q
\v 16 A chacham feareth, and departeth from rah,
\q but the kesil throweth off restraint and is arrogantly reckless.
\q
\v 17 He that is quick-tempered dealeth folly,
\q and an ish mezimot \add (a man of crafty schemes)\add* is hated.
\q
\v 18 The naive inherit folly,
\q but the prudent are crowned with da'as.
\q
\v 19 The ra'im will bow before the tov'im,
\q and the resha'im at the she'arim of the tzaddik.
\q
\v 20 The poor is hated even by his own re'a \add (neighbor)\add*,
\q but the oisher hath many friends.
\q
\v 21 He that despiseth his re'a sinneth,
\q but he that is kind to the anayim \add (needy ones)\add*, happy is he.
\q
\v 22 Do they not go astray that plot rah?
\q But chesed and emes shall be to them that plan tov.
\q
\v 23 In all hard work there is profit,
\q but idle chatter of the sfatayim \add (lips)\add* tendeth only to makhsor \add (poverty, want)\add*.
\q
\v 24 The ateret chachamim is their riches,
\q but the foolishness of kesilim is folly.
\q
\v 25 An ed emes \add (true witness)\add* saveth nefashot \add (souls, lives)\add*,
\q but a lying witness is a betrayer.
\q
\v 26 In the Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* is strong confidence,
\q and his banim shall have a place of refuge.
\q
\v 27 The Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* is a makor chayyim \add (fountain of life)\add*
\q to turn one away from the snares of mavet.
\q
\v 28 In the multitude of people is the glory of a melech,
\q but in the lack of subjects is the ruin of the prince.
\q
\v 29 He that is slow to wrath
\q is of rav tevunah \add (great understanding)\add*,
\q but he that is angrily impulsive
\q exalteth folly.
\q
\v 30 A lev marpeh \add (sound mind)\add* is life to the basar,
\q but kinah \add (envy)\add* is the rottenness of the atzmot \add (bones)\add*.
\q
\v 31 He that oppresseth the dal \add (poor)\add* showeth contempt for his Oseh \add (Maker)\add*,
\q but he that honoreth Him is kind to the evyon \add (needy)\add*.
\q
\v 32 The reshah is banished in his ra'ah,
\q but the tzaddik hath refuge in his mot \add (death)\add*.
\q
\v 33 In the lev of the discerning reposes chochmah,
\q but that which is in kesilim is made known.
\q
\v 34 Tzedakah exalteth a nation,
\q but chattat \add (sin)\add* is a reproach to any people.
\q
\v 35 The ratzon melech \add (kingʼs favor)\add* is toward an eved maskil \add (a wise servant)\add*,
\q but his wrath is against him that bringeth shame.
\c 15
\q
\v 1 A soft answer turneth away chemah \add (wrath)\add*;
\q but harsh devarim stir up anger.
\q
\v 2 The lashon of chachamim useth da'as aright,
\q but the peh \add (mouth)\add* of kesilim \add (fools)\add* poureth out folly.
\q
\v 3 The eynayim of \nd Hashem\nd* are in kol makom \add (every place)\add*,
\q watching the ra'im and the tovim.
\q
\v 4 A marpeh lashon \add (a tongue of healing)\add* is an Etz Chayyim,
\q but selef \add (perversity)\add* therein is crushing to the ruach \add (spirit)\add*.
\q
\v 5 A fool spurns his musar av,
\q but he that is shomer over tokhakhat \add (reproof)\add* is prudent.
\q
\v 6 In the bais of the tzaddik is much treasure,
\q but in the revenues of the rashah is trouble.
\q
\v 7 The sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of chachamim disperse da'as,
\q but the lev of kesilim doeth not so.
\q
\v 8 The zevach of the resha'im is a to'evah to \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q but the tefillah \add (prayer)\add* of the yesharim is His delight.
\q
\v 9 The derech rashah is a to'evah unto \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q but He loveth him that pursueth tzedakah.
\q
\v 10 Musar is grievous unto him that forsaketh the orach \add (way)\add*,
\q and he that hateth tokhakhat \add (reproof)\add* shall die.
\q
\v 11 Sheol and Avaddon are before \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q how much more then the hearts of Bnei Adam?
\q
\v 12 A scoffer loveth not one that correcteth him,
\q neither will he go unto chachamim.
\q
\v 13 A lev same'ach maketh a cheerful countenance,
\q but by sorrow of the lev the ruach is broken.
\q
\v 14 The lev of him that hath understanding seeketh da'as,
\q but the peh \add (mouth)\add* of kesilim feedeth on folly.
\q
\v 15 All the days of the oni are ra'im,
\q but he that is of a tov lev hath a mishteh tamid \add (a continual feast)\add*.
\q
\v 16 Better is little with the Yirat \nd Hashem\nd*
\q than otzar rav \add (great treasure)\add* and trouble therewith.
\q
\v 17 Better is a meal of yarak \add (vegetables)\add* where love is,
\q than a fatted calf and sinah \add (hatred)\add* therewith.
\q
\v 18 An ish chemah \add (angry man)\add* stirreth up madon \add (strife)\add*,
\q but he that is slow to anger pacifies a quarrel.
\q
\v 19 The derech \add (road)\add* of the atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* is a thorny hedge,
\q but the orach yesharim \add (way of the upright)\add* is a highway.
\q
\v 20 A ben chacham maketh glad an av,
\q but a kesil adam despiseth immo.
\q
\v 21 Folly is simchah to him that is destitute of lev,\f + \fr 15:21 \fr*\ft of discernment\ft*\f*
\q but an ish tevunah walketh uprightly.
\q
\v 22 Without counsel, plans go amiss,
\q but in the multitude of yo'atzim \add (counsellors)\add* they are established.
\q
\v 23 An ish hath simchah in the apt reply of his peh \add (mouth)\add*,
\q and a timely davar, mah tov \add (how good!)\add*
\q
\v 24 The Orach Chayyim leads upward to the wise,
\q in order that he may depart from Sheol beneath.
\q
\v 25 \nd Hashem\nd* will destroy the bais of the proud,
\q but he will maintain the boundary of the almanah.
\q
\v 26 The thoughts of the rah are a to'evah to \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q but the words of the tehorim \add (pure ones)\add* are pleasant.
\q
\v 27 He that is greedy of unjust gain troubleth his own bais,
\q but he that hateth mattanot \add (bribes)\add* shall live.
\q
\v 28 The lev tzaddik studieth how to answer,
\q but the peh \add (mouth)\add* of the resha'im poureth out evil things.
\q
\v 29 \nd Hashem\nd* is far from the resha'im,
\q but He heareth the tefillah of the tzaddikim.
\q
\v 30 The ohr \add (light)\add* of the eynayim rejoiceth the lev,
\q and a good report giveth health to the etzem.
\q
\v 31 The ozen that heareth the tokhakhat chayyim \add (reproof of life)\add*
\q lodgeth among chachamim.
\q
\v 32 He that refuseth musar despiseth his own nefesh,
\q but he that heareth tokhakhat \add (reproof)\add* getteth lev.\f + \fr 15:32 \fr*\ft of understanding\ft*\f*
\q
\v 33 The Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* is the musar of chochmah;
\q and before kavod \add (honor)\add* is anavah \add (humility)\add*.
\c 16
\q
\v 1 The plans of the lev belong to adam,
\q and the answer of the lashon is from \nd Hashem\nd*.
\q
\v 2 All the drakhei ish are pure in his own eynayim,
\q but \nd Hashem\nd* weigheth the ruchot.
\q
\v 3 Commit thy ma'asim \add (works)\add* unto \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q and thy plans shall be established.
\q
\v 4 \nd Hashem\nd* works out all things for Himself,
\q indeed, even the rasha \add (wicked)\add* for the Yom Ra'ah \add (day of evil)\add*.
\q
\v 5 Every one that is proud in lev
\q is to'evat \nd Hashem\nd*;
\q though yad join in yad, he shall not go unpunished.
\q
\v 6 By chesed and emes avon is purged,
\q and by the Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* men depart from rah.
\q
\v 7 When drakhei ish please \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q He maketh even his oyevim to be in shalom with him.
\q
\v 8 Better is a little with tzedakah
\q than great revenues without mishpat \add (justice)\add*.
\q
\v 9 The lev adam plans his derech,
\q but \nd Hashem\nd* directeth his steps.
\q
\v 10 A kesem \add (oracle)\add* is on the sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of Melech,
\q his peh \add (mouth)\add* must not betray mishpat.
\q
\v 11 A just weight and balance are \nd Hashem\nd*ʼs,
\q all the weights of the bag are His concern.
\q
\v 12 It is to'evat melachim to commit resha \add (wickedness)\add*,
\q for the kisse is established through tzedakah.
\q
\v 13 Sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of tzedek are the delight of melachim;
\q and they love him that speaketh yesharim \add (upright things)\add*.
\q
\v 14 The wrath of a melech is as malachim of mavet,
\q but an ish chacham will appease it.
\q
\v 15 In the light of the countenance of melech is chayyim,
\q and his favor is like the cloud of a spring rain.
\q
\v 16 How much better is it to acquire chochmah than gold,
\q and acquiring binah \add (understanding)\add* a better choice than kesef!
\q
\v 17 The mesilat yesharim \add (highway of the upright)\add*
\q is to depart from rah;
\q he that guards his derech is shomer over his nefesh \add (soul)\add*.
\q
\v 18 Ga'on \add (pride)\add* goeth before shever \add (destruction)\add*,
\q and a ruach of haughtiness before a fall.
\q
\v 19 Better it is to be of a humble ruach among the anayim,
\q than to divide the plunder with the proud.
\q
\v 20 He that wisely heeds the Davar shall find tov \add (good)\add*,
\q and he who trusteth in \nd Hashem\nd*, happy is he.
\q
\v 21 The chacham lev shall be called prudent,
\q and the sweetness of the sfatayim \add (lips)\add* adds to learning.
\q
\v 22 Seichel is a Makor Chayyim unto him that hath it,
\q but the musar \add (instruction, discipline)\add* of fools is folly.
\q
\v 23 The lev chacham guides his peh \add (mouth)\add*,
\q and addeth learning to his sfatayim \add (lips)\add*.
\q
\v 24 Pleasant words are as a honeycomb,
\q sweet to the nefesh, and marpeh \add (healing)\add* to the atzmot \add (bones)\add*.
\q
\v 25 There is a derech that seemeth yashar \add (right)\add* before an ish,
\q but its acharit \add (future, latter end)\add* is the drakhei mavet.
\q
\v 26 The nefesh \add (appetite)\add* of the laborer works for him,
\q for his peh \add (mouth)\add* of hunger driveth him on.
\q
\v 27 An ish Beliya'al diggeth up ra'ah,
\q and in his sfatayim \add (lips)\add* there is as a scorching eish.
\q
\v 28 A perverse ish soweth madon \add (strife, dissension)\add*,
\q and a whisperer separateth close friends.
\q
\v 29 An ish chamas enticeth his re'a,
\q and leadeth him into the derech that is not good.
\q
\v 30 He winking his eynayim to plot perverse things,
\q compressing his sfatayim \add (lips)\add*,
\q bringeth ra'ah to pass.
\q
\v 31 The silvery hair is an ateret tiferet;
\q it is found in the derech tzedakah.
\q
\v 32 He that is slow to anger
\q is better than the gibbor;
\q and he that ruleth his ruach
\q than he that captures a city.
\q
\v 33 The goral is cast into the kheyk \add (lap)\add*,
\q but the whole decision thereof is from \nd Hashem\nd*.
\c 17
\q
\v 1 Better is a dry crust, and quietness therewith,
\q than a bais full of zevakhim \add (sacrificial religious meals)\add* with strife.
\q
\v 2 An eved maskil \add (wise servant)\add* shall have rule over a ben that causeth shame,
\q and shall have a share of the nachalah among the achim.
\q
\v 3 The crucible is for kesef, and the furnace for zahav,
\q but \nd Hashem\nd* is the testor of hearts.
\q
\v 4 An evildoer giveth heed to false sfatayim \add (lips)\add*,
\q and a sheker \add (liar)\add* giveth ear to a spiteful lashon.
\q
\v 5 He who mocketh the poor showeth contempt for his Oseh \add (Maker)\add*,
\q and he that gloats at calamities shall not go unpunished.
\q
\v 6 Bnei banim are the ateret of zekenim;
\q and the tiferet of banim are their avot.
\q
\v 7 Eloquent speech becometh not a naval \add (fool)\add*,
\q much less do lying sfatayim \add (lips)\add* a ruler.
\q
\v 8 A shochad \add (gift, bribe)\add* is like a charm in the eynayim of him that hath it:
\q wherever he turneth, he prospereth.
\q
\v 9 He that covereth a peysha \add (transgression)\add* seeketh love;
\q but he that repeateth a matter separateth the best of friends.
\q
\v 10 Ge'arah \add (scolding)\add* goeth deeper into a meiven
\q than a hundred blows into a kesil \add (fool)\add*.
\q
\v 11 A rah seeketh only rebellion;
\q therefore a merciless malach shall be sent to him.
\q
\v 12 Let an ish meet a dov robbed of her cubs
\q rather than a kesil in his folly.
\q
\v 13 He who rewardeth ra'ah for tovah,
\q ra'ah shall not depart from his bais.
\q
\v 14 The beginning of madon \add (strife)\add* is like releasing mayim,
\q therefore stop contention before a quarrel begins.
\q
\v 15 He that justifieth the rashah,
\q and he that condemneth the tzaddik,
\q even they both are to'evah to \nd Hashem\nd*.
\q
\v 16 Why is there the purchase price in the yad of a kesil \add (fool)\add* to acquire chochmah,
\q seeing he hath no lev for it?
\q
\v 17 The re'a \add (friend)\add* loveth at all times,
\q and a brother is born for tzarah \add (adversity)\add*.
\q
\v 18 Adam devoid of lev\f + \fr 17:18 \fr*\ft of understanding\ft*\f* shaketh hands in pledge,
\q and becometh the security deposit for his neighbor.
\q
\v 19 He loveth peysha \add (transgression, sin)\add* that loveth strife,
\q and he that maketh his threshold high seeketh shever \add (fracture)\add*.
\q
\v 20 He that hath a crooked mind findeth no tov,
\q and he that hath a deceitful lashon falleth into ra'ah.
\q
\v 21 He that begetteth a kesil doeth it to his sorrow,
\q and the avi naval hath no simchah.
\q
\v 22 A lev same'ach doeth tov like a medicine,
\q but a downcast ruach drieth up the bones.
\q
\v 23 A rasha accepts a shochad \add (bribe)\add* out of the kheyk \add (bosom)\add*,\f + \fr 17:23 \fr*\ft i.e., secretly\ft*\f*
\q to pervert the orkhot mishpat \add (paths of justice)\add*.
\q
\v 24 Chochmah is before the meiven \add (discerning one)\add*;
\q but the eynayim of a kesil are on the ends of ha'aretz.
\q
\v 25 A ben kesil is a ka'as \add (grief)\add* to aviv \add (his father)\add*,
\q and bitterness to her that bore him.
\q
\v 26 Also to punish the tzaddik is not tov,
\q nor to flog officials for their yashar \add (uprightness, integrity)\add*.
\q
\v 27 He that hath da'as spareth his words,
\q and an ish tevunah \add (man of understanding)\add* is of a calm ruach.
\q
\v 28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted chacham,
\q and he that shutteth his sfatayim \add (lips)\add* is esteemed a man of understanding.
\c 18
\q
\v 1 A man who separates himself seeks his own ta'avah \add (desire)\add*;
\q he defies all tushiyyah \add (wisdom, sound judgment)\add*.
\q
\v 2 A kesil \add (fool)\add* hath no delight in tevunah \add (understanding)\add*,
\q but only in airing out his lev \add (mind, opinions)\add*.
\q
\v 3 When the rashah cometh, then cometh also contempt,
\q and with dishonor, cherpah \add (reproach, disgrace)\add*.
\q
\v 4 The devarim of a manʼs mouth are deep mayim;
\q the makor chochmah is a flowing stream.
\q
\v 5 It is not tov to show partiality to the rashah,
\q to subvert the tzaddik in mishpat.
\q
\v 6 The sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of a kesil enter into contention,
\q and his peh \add (mouth)\add* inviteth blows.
\q
\v 7 The peh \add (mouth)\add* of a kesil is his undoing,
\q and his sfatayim \add (lips)\add* are the mokesh \add (snare)\add* of his nefesh.
\q
\v 8 The devarim of a nirgan \add (gossip, talebearer, slanderer)\add* are like mitlachamim \add (delicious tidbits)\add*,
\q and they go down into the innermost parts of the beten \add (belly)\add*.
\q
\v 9 He also that is slack in his work
\q is brother to him that is ba'al mashchit \add (master of destruction)\add*.
\q
\v 10 The Shem of \nd Hashem\nd* is a strong migdal \add (tower)\add*,
\q the tzaddik runneth into it, and is safe.
\q
\v 11 The oisherʼs wealth is his strong city,
\q and is a high chomah in his own conceit.
\q
\v 12 Before shever \add (destruction)\add* the lev ish is haughty,
\q and before kavod is anavah \add (humility)\add*.
\q
\v 13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it,
\q it is folly and kelimmah \add (reproach, shame)\add* unto him.
\q
\v 14 The ruach ish will sustain him in sickness,
\q but a crushed ruach who can bear?
\q
\v 15 The lev of the prudent acquireth da'as,
\q and the ozen of the chachamim seeketh da'as.
\q
\v 16 The mattan adam \add (gift of a man)\add* openeth the way for him,
\q and bringeth him before gedolim.
\q
\v 17 He that is harishon \add (the first)\add* to make his case seemeth tzaddik,
\q but his re'a cometh and doth cross-examine him.
\q
\v 18 The goral \add (lot)\add* causeth contentions to cease,
\q and keepeth the mighty apart.
\q
\v 19 A brother offended is harder to be won
\q than a strong city,
\q and their contentious quarrelings are like the bars of an armon \add (citadel)\add*.
\q
\v 20 An ishʼs beten shall be filled with the fruit of his peh \add (mouth)\add*,
\q and with the produce of his sfatayim \add (lips)\add* shall he be satisfied.
\q
\v 21 Mavet and chayyim are in the power of the lashon,
\q and they that love it shall eat the p'ri \add (fruit)\add* thereof.
\q
\v 22 He who findeth an isha \add (wife)\add* findeth tov,
\q and obtaineth ratzon \add (favor)\add* from \nd Hashem\nd*.
\q
\v 23 The poor useth entreaties,
\q but the oisher answereth roughly.
\q
\v 24 An ish of many companions may come to ruin,
\q but there is an ohev \add (friend)\add* that sticketh closer than a brother.
\c 19
\q
\v 1 Better is the poor that walketh in his tohm \add (integrity, guilelessness)\add*,
\q than he that is perverse in his sfatayim \add (lips)\add*, and is a kesil \add (fool)\add*.
\q
\v 2 Also, that the nefesh \add (desire)\add* be without da'as, it is not tov,
\q and he that hasteth with his raglayim \add (feet)\add* sinneth.
\q
\v 3 The folly of adam maketh his derech crooked,
\q yet his lev rages against \nd Hashem\nd*.
\q
\v 4 Wealth maketh many friends,
\q but the dal \add (poor)\add* is separated from his re'a \add (neighbor)\add*.
\q
\v 5 An ed shekarim \add (false witness)\add* shall not go unpunished,
\q and he that speaketh kezavim \add (lies)\add* shall not escape.
\q
\v 6 Rabbim \add (many)\add* will entreat the favor of the ruler,
\q and every ish is the re'a \add (friend)\add* to him that giveth mattan \add (gifts)\add*.
\q
\v 7 All the kin of the rahsh \add (pauper)\add* do hate him;
\q how much more does his friend avoid him?
\q He pursueth them with words,
\q yet they are not there.
\q
\v 8 He that getteth lev\f + \fr 19:8 \fr*\ft of understanding\ft*\f* loveth his own nefesh;
\q he that is shomer over tevunah \add (understanding)\add* shall find tov.
\q
\v 9 An ed shekarim \add (false witness)\add* shall not go unpunished,
\q and he that speaketh kezavim \add (lies)\add* shall perish.
\q
\v 10 Luxury is not fitting for a kesil \add (fool)\add*;
\q much less for an eved to have rule over sarim.
\q
\v 11 The seichel adam deferreth his anger,
\q and it is his tiferet \add (glory)\add* to pass over a peysha \add (transgression)\add*.
\q
\v 12 The wrath of a melech is like the roaring of a lion,
\q but his ratzon \add (favor)\add* is as tal \add (dew)\add* upon the esev \add (grass)\add*.
\q
\v 13 A ben kesil is the calamity of aviv \add (his father)\add*,
\q and the contentions of an isha are a constant dripping.\f + \fr 19:13 \fr*\ft i.e., an irritant\ft*\f*
\q
\v 14 Bais and hon \add (wealth)\add* are the nachalah avot,
\q and a prudent isha \add (wife)\add* is from \nd Hashem\nd*.
\q
\v 15 Atzlah \add (slothfulness, laziness)\add* casteth into a tardemah \add (deep sleep)\add*,
\q and a nefesh remiyyah \add (a deceitfully lazy soul)\add* shall suffer hunger.
\q
\v 16 He that is shomer over the mitzvah is shomer over his own nefesh,
\q but he that is reckless in his drakhim shall die.
\q
\v 17 He that hath compassion on the dal \add (poor)\add* lendeth unto \nd Hashem\nd*;
\q and for his benefits He will repay him.
\q
\v 18 Chasten binecha \add (thy son)\add* while there is yet tikvah,
\q and give not in to thy nefesh \add (desire)\add* to kill him.
\q
\v 19 One of gadol chemah \add (great temper)\add* shall bear onesh \add (punishment)\add*,
\q for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
\q
\v 20 Hear etzah, and accept musar,
\q that thou mayest be wise in thy acharit \add (latter end, future)\add*.
\q
\v 21 There are many plans in a lev ish;
\q nevertheless it is the etzah of \nd Hashem\nd* that shall stand.
\q
\v 22 The ta'avah \add (what is desirable)\add* in an adam is his chesed,
\q and a rahsh \add (pauper)\add* is better than an ish kazav \add (liar)\add*.
\q
\v 23 The Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* tendeth to chayyim,
\q and he that hath it shall rest secure;
\q he shall not be visited by rah.
\q
\v 24 An atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* thrusteth his yad into his dish,
\q and will not so much as bring it back to his peh \add (mouth)\add* again.
\q
\v 25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn what is prudent,
\q and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand da'as.
\q
\v 26 He that mistreateth his av, and driveth out his em,
\q is a ben that causeth shame, and bringeth cherpah.
\q
\v 27 Cease, beni \add (my son)\add*, to hear musar
\q and thou shalt go astray from the words of da'as.
\q
\v 28 An ed beliya'al \add (corrupt witness)\add* scorneth mishpat \add (justice)\add*,
\q and the peh \add (mouth)\add* of the resha'im devoureth iniquity.
\q
\v 29 Shefatim \add (penalties, judgments)\add* are prepared for scoffers,
\q and for kesilim, beatings for the back.
\c 20
\q
\v 1 The yayin is a mocker, strong drink a brawler;
\q and whosoever is seduced to be led astray thereby is not wise.
\q
\v 2 The wrath of a melech is as the roaring of a lion;
\q he who provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own nefesh.
\q
\v 3 It is kavod for an ish to cease from strife,
\q but any fool can start a quarrel.
\q
\v 4 The atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* will not plow by reason of choref \add (winter, cold)\add*;
\q therefore shall he beg at katzir \add (harvest)\add*, and have nothing.
\q
\v 5 Etzah \add (purpose)\add*\f + \fr 20:5 \fr*\ft See \+xt Yn 2:24-25\+xt*\ft*\f* in the lev ish is like deep mayim,
\q but an ish tevunah will draw it out.
\q
\v 6 Rav adam will proclaim every one his own chesed,
\q but an ish emunim \add (faithful man, loyal man)\add* who can find one?
\q
\v 7 The tzaddik walketh in his tohm \add (integrity, guilelessness)\add*;
\q his banim after him are blessed.
\q
\v 8 A melech that sitteth in the kisse din \add (throne of judgment)\add*
\q winnows out all rah with his eynayim.
\q
\v 9 Who can say, I have made my lev pure,
\q I am tahor from my chattat?
\q
\v 10 Differing weights, and differing measures,
\q both of them are alike to'evah to \nd Hashem\nd*.
\q
\v 11 Even a na'ar \add (child)\add* is known by his ways,
\q whether his conduct be pure, and whether it be yashar \add (right)\add*.
\q
\v 12 The hearing ozen, and the seeing ayin,
\q \nd Hashem\nd* hath made even both of them.
\q
\v 13 Love not sheynah \add (sleep)\add*, lest thou come to poverty;
\q open thine eynayim, and thou shalt have enough lechem.
\q
\v 14 It is good for nothing, it is naught, saith the koneh \add (buyer)\add*,
\q but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
\q
\v 15 There is zahav, and a multitude of rubies,
\q but the sfatayim \add (lips)\add* of da'as are a precious jewel.
\q
\v 16 Take his garment that is guaranty for a zar \add (stranger)\add*,
\q and hold it as his pledge for a nokhriyah \add (foreign woman, strange woman, seductress)\add*.
\q
\v 17 Lechem from sheker \add (deceit)\add* is sweet to an ish,
\q but afterwards his peh \add (mouth)\add* shall be filled with gravel.
\q
\v 18 Every plan is established by etzah,
\q and with tachbulot \add (guidance)\add* wage milchamah.
\q
\v 19 He that goeth about as a rakhil \add (gossip, slanderer, talebearer)\add* revealeth secrets;
\q therefore associate not with the babbler.
\q
\v 20 He who curseth aviv or immo,
\q his ner \add (lamp)\add* shall be put out in deep choshech.
\q
\v 21 A nachalah \add (inheritance)\add* may be gotten hastily at the rishonah \add (beginning)\add*;
\q but the acharit \add (latter end)\add* thereof shall not have a bracha.
\q
\v 22 Say not thou, I will pay back rah;
\q but wait on \nd Hashem\nd*, and He shall save thee.
\q
\v 23 Differing weights are a to'evah unto \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q and scales of mirmah \add (deceit)\add* are not tov.
\q
\v 24 The steps of a gever are from \nd Hashem\nd*;
\q how can an adam then understand his own derech \add (way, lifeʼs course)\add*?
\q
\v 25 It is a mokesh adam to devote rashly as kodesh,
\q and after nedarim \add (vows)\add* to reconsider his consecration.
\q
\v 26 A melech chacham winnows out the resha'im
\q and bringeth the ofan \add (threshing wheel)\add* over them.
\q
\v 27 The neshamah of adam is the ner \add (light)\add* of \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q searching all the innermost beten.
\q
\v 28 Chesed and emes guard the Melech,
\q and his kisse is upheld by chesed.
\q
\v 29 The tiferet \add (glory)\add* of bochurim is their ko'ach \add (strength)\add*,
\q and the hadar \add (splendor)\add* of zekenim is the silvery head.
\q
\v 30 Blows that wound cleanseth away rah;
\q so do beatings the innermost beten.
\c 21
\q
\v 1 The lev melech is in the yad \nd Hashem\nd*, as the channels of mayim;
\q He directeth it wherever He will.
\q
\v 2 Every derech ish is yashar \add (right)\add* in his own eynayim,
\q but \nd Hashem\nd* weigheth the hearts.
\q
\v 3 To do tzedakah and mishpat
\q is more acceptable to \nd Hashem\nd* than zevach.
\q
\v 4 A high and haughty eye,
\q and a proud levner resha'im \add (the lamp of the wicked ones)\add* — are chattat \add (sin)\add*.
\q
\v 5 The plans of the kharutz \add (diligent)\add* lead surely to profit;
\q but of every one that is hasty surely to machsor \add (poverty, want)\add*.
\q
\v 6 The getting of otzarot by a lashon sheker
\q is hevel \add (vain, empty, meaningless)\add* and fleeting
\q for them that seek mavet.
\q
\v 7 The violence of the resha'im shall drag them away;
\q because they refuse to do mishpat \add (justice)\add*.
\q
\v 8 The derech of the guilty ish is hafachpach \add (crooked, tortuous)\add*,
\q but as for the pure, his conduct is yashar \add (right)\add*.
\q
\v 9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the gag \add (roof)\add*,
\q than with a quarrelsome isha in a shared bais.
\q
\v 10 The nefesh of the rashah desireth rah;
\q his re'a findeth no mercy in his eynayim.
\q
\v 11 When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise,
\q and when insight is disclosed to the chacham, he receiveth da'as.
\q
\v 12 The tzaddik \add (righteous one)\add* wisely considereth the bais of the rashah,
\q and hurleth the resha'im to rah.
\q
\v 13 He who stoppeth his ozen at the cry of the dal \add (poor)\add*,
\q he also shall cry out himself, but shall not be heard.
\q
\v 14 A mattan \add (gift)\add* in secret pacifieth af \add (anger)\add*,
\q and a shochad \add (bribe)\add* in the kheyk \add (bosom)\add*,\f + \fr 21:14 \fr*\ft i.e., a concealed bribe\ft*\f* strong wrath.
\q
\v 15 It is simchah to the tzaddik to do mishpat,
\q but terror for the po'alei aven \add (workers of iniquity)\add*.
\q
\v 16 The adam that wandereth astray from the derech haseichel \add (road of understanding)\add*
\q shall rest in the kahal of the refa'im \add (congregation of the dead)\add*.
\q
\v 17 The ohev simchah \add (lover of pleasure)\add* shall be an ish machsor \add (man of poverty, want, shortage)\add*;
\q he that loveth yayin and shemen shall not be rich.
\q
\v 18 The reshah shall be a kofer \add (ransom)\add* for the tzaddik,
\q and the boged \add (the unfaithful)\add* for the yesharim.
\q
\v 19 It is better to dwell in eretz midbar,
\q than with a quarrelsome and an angry isha.
\q
\v 20 There is otzar to be desired and shemen in the naveh \add (dwelling)\add* of the chacham;
\q but a kesil adam squanders it.
\q
\v 21 He that pursueth tzedakah and chesed
\q findeth chayyim, tzedakah, and kavod.
\q
\v 22 A chacham scaleth the city of the gibborim \add (mighty ones)\add*,
\q and casteth down the trusted stronghold thereof.
\q
\v 23 He who is shomer over his peh \add (mouth)\add* and his lashon \add (tongue)\add*
\q is shomer over his nefesh from tzoros.
\q
\v 24 Proud and haughty scoffer is shmo,
\q who acteth in superfluity of zadon \add (pride)\add*.
\q
\v 25 The ta'avah \add (desire, craving)\add* of the atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* killeth him,
\q for his yadayim refuse to work.
\q
\v 26 He craveth greedily kol hayom,
\q but the tzaddik giveth and spareth not.
\q
\v 27 The zevach of the resha'im is to'evah \add (detestable, abomination)\add*;
\q how much more, when he bringeth it with zimmah \add (evil intent)\add*.
\q
\v 28 An ed kezavim \add (lying witness)\add* shall perish,
\q but the ish that heareth [emes] speaketh lanetzach \add (unto eternity)\add*.
\q
\v 29 An ish rasha defiantly hardeneth his face,
\q but as for the yashar \add (upright)\add* he maketh his derech \add (road)\add* sure.
\q
\v 30 There is no chochmah nor tevunah \add (understanding)\add*
\q nor etzah against \nd Hashem\nd*.
\q
\v 31 The sus is prepared against the yom milchamah,
\q but teshuah \add (victory, deliverance)\add* is from \nd Hashem\nd*.
\c 22
\q
\v 1 A shem tov is rather to be desired than osher rav,
\q and chen \add (grace)\add* rather than kesef and zahav.
\q
\v 2 The oisher \add (rich man)\add* and the rahsh \add (pauper)\add* have this in common:
\q \nd Hashem\nd* is the Oseh \add (Maker)\add* of them all.
\q
\v 3 A prudent man foreseeth the ra'ah, and hideth himself,
\q but the naïve trudge on, and are punished.
\q
\v 4 By anavah \add (humility)\add* and the Yirat \nd Hashem\nd*
\q are osher, and kavod, and chayyim.
\q
\v 5 Thorns and pachim \add (snares)\add* are in the derech of the crooked;
\q he that is shomer over his nefesh shall be far from them.
\q
\v 6 Train up a na'ar in the derech \add (road)\add* he should go,
\q and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
\q
\v 7 The oisher ruleth over the rahshim \add (paupers)\add*,
\q and the loveh \add (borrower, debtor)\add* is eved \add (slave)\add* to the ish malveh \add (lender)\add*.
\q
\v 8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap aven \add (iniquity)\add*,
\q and the shevet \add (rod)\add* of his wrath shall disappear.
\q
\v 9 He that hath a tov ayin \add (generous eye)\add* shall have a bracha;
\q for he giveth of his lechem to the dal \add (poor)\add*.
\q
\v 10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention shall leave;
\q indeed, strife and kalon \add (shame)\add* shall cease.
\q
\v 11 He that loveth tahor lev \add (a pure heart)\add*,
\q for the chen \add (grace)\add* on his sfatayim \add (lips)\add* the Melech shall be his re'a \add (friend)\add*.
\q
\v 12 The eynayim of \nd Hashem\nd* preserve da'as,
\q and He overthroweth the devarim of the boged \add (unfaithful, treacherous, traitor)\add*.
\q
\v 13 The atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* saith, There is an ari \add (lion)\add* outside;
\q I shall be murdered in the streets.
\q
\v 14 The peh \add (mouth)\add* of zarot \add (strange women)\add* is a deep pit;
\q he that is under the wrath of \nd Hashem\nd* shall fall therein.
\q
\v 15 Folly is bound in the lev na'ar,
\q but the shevet musar \add (rod of correction)\add* shall drive it far from him.
\q
\v 16 He that oppresseth the dal \add (poor)\add* in order to increase,
\q and he that giveth to the oisher, shall surely come to machsor \add (poverty, want)\add*.
\q
\v 17 Bow down thine ozen, and hear the devarim of chachamim,
\q and apply thine lev \add (mind, heart)\add* unto my da'as.
\q
\v 18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou be shomer over them within thee;
\q they shall therewith abide ready upon thy sfatayim \add (lips)\add*.
\q
\v 19 That thy trust may be in \nd Hashem\nd*,
\q I have made thee know this yom, even thee!
\q
\v 20 Have not I written to thee shloshim \add (thirty sayings)\add*
\q in mo'etzot \add (counsels)\add* and da'as,
\q
\v 21 That I might make thee know the certain truth of the words of emes;
\q that thou mightest bring back words of emes to them that send thee?
\q
\v 22 Exploit not the dal \add (poor)\add*, because he is dal \add (poor)\add*;
\q neither oppress the oni \add (afflicted)\add* in the sha'ar,
\q
\v 23 For \nd Hashem\nd* will plead their cause,
\q and plunder the nefesh of those that plundered them.
\q
\v 24 Make no friendship with a ba'al af \add (angry man)\add*,
\q and with an ish chemot \add (man of wrath)\add* thou shalt not go,
\q
\v 25 Lest thou learn his orkhot \add (ways)\add*,
\q and take a mokesh \add (snare)\add* for thy nefesh.
\q
\v 26 Be not thou one of them that shake hands in a pledge,
\q or of them that are collateral for masha'ot \add (debts, loans)\add*.
\q
\v 27 If thou hast nothing with which to pay,
\q why should he take away thy mishkav \add (bed)\add* from under thee?
\q
\v 28 Remove not the gevul olam \add (ancient landmark)\add*,
\q which avoteicha have set.
\q
\v 29 Seest thou an ish mahir \add (diligent, one who excells)\add* in his work?
\q He shall stand before melachim;
\q he shall not stand before obscure men.
\c 23
\q
\v 1 When thou sittest to dine with a moshel \add (ruler)\add*,
\q consider diligently what is before thee,
\q
\v 2 And put a sakin \add (knife)\add* to thy throat,
\q if thou be a ba'al nefesh \add (man given to gluttony)\add*.
\q
\v 3 Be not desirous of his delicacies,
\q for they are lechem kezavim \add (deceitful food)\add*.
\q
\v 4 Overwork not to get rich;
\q cease from thine own binah \add (understanding)\add*.
\q
\v 5 Wilt thou let thine eynayim fly after that which is not?
\q For such [wealth] certainly sprouts kenafayim \add (wings)\add*;
\q they fly away as a nesher \add (eagle)\add* toward Shomayim.
\q
\v 6 Eat thou not the lechem of him that hath a rah ayin \add (evil eye)\add*,\f + \fr 23:6 \fr*\ft i.e., a miser\ft*\f*
\q neither desire thou his delicacies;
\q
\v 7 For as he reckoneth in his nefesh, so is he.
\q Eat and drink! saith he to thee,
\q but his lev is not with thee.
\q
\v 8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up,
\q and lose thy pleasant devarim.
\q
\v 9 Speak not in the oznayim of a kesil \add (fool)\add*,
\q for he will despise the seichel of thy words.
\q
\v 10 Remove not the gevul olam \add (ancient landmark)\add*;
\q and enter not into the sadot of the yetomim \add (fatherless ones, orphans)\add*,
\q
\v 11 For their Go'el is chazak \add (strong)\add*;
\q He shall plead their cause against thee.
\q
\v 12 Apply thine lev unto musar,
\q and thine oznayim to the words of da'as.
\q
\v 13 Withhold not musar \add (correction)\add* from the na'ar \add (child)\add*,
\q for if thou spank him with the shevet, he shall not die.
\q
\v 14 Thou shalt spank him with the shevet,
\q and shalt save his nefesh from Sheol.
\b
\q
\v 15 Beni \add (my son)\add*, if thine lev be chacham,
\q my own lev shall have simchah.
\q
\v 16 Indeed, my inmost being shall rejoice,
\q when thy sfatayim \add (lips)\add* speak meisharim \add (upright things)\add*.
\q
\v 17 Let not thine lev envy chatta'im,
\q but be thou in the Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* kol hayom.
\q
\v 18 For surely there is an acharit \add (latter end, future)\add*,
\q and thine tikvah shall not be cut off.
\b
\q
\v 19 Hear thou, beni \add (my son)\add*, and be chacham,
\q and guide thine lev straight on the derech.
\q
\v 20 Be not among yayin gluttons;
\q among gluttonous eaters of basar,
\q
\v 21 For the drunkard and the zolel \add (glutton)\add* shall come to poverty,
\q and drowsiness shall clothe with rags.
\b
\q
\v 22 Pay heed unto avicha that fathered thee,
\q and despise not immecha when she is old.
\q
\v 23 Buy emes, and sell it not;
\q also chochmah, and musar, and binah \add (understanding)\add*.
\q
\v 24 Avi tzaddik \add (the father of a righteous one)\add* shall greatly rejoice,
\q and he that fathereth a chacham shall have simchah in him.
\q
\v 25 Avicha and immecha shall be glad,
\q and she that bore thee shall rejoice.
\b
\q
\v 26 Beni \add (my son)\add*, give me thine lev,
\q and let thine eynayim delight in my drakhim.
\q
\v 27 For a zonah is a deep pit,
\q and a nokhriyah \add (strange woman, foreign woman, seductress, unfaithful wife)\add* is a narrow well.
\q
\v 28 She also lieth in wait like a road bandit,
\q and increaseth the bogedim \add (unfaithful)\add* among adam \add (mankind)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 29 Who hath oy \add (woe)\add*? Who hath sorrow?
\q Who hath strifes? Who hath complaint?
\q Who hath needless wounds?
\q Who hath bloodshot eynayim?
\q
\v 30 They that tarry long at the yayin,
\q they that turn in to sample mixed wine.
\q
\v 31 Stare not thou into the yayin when it is red,
\q when it sparkles in the kos \add (cup)\add*,
\q when it goeth down smoothly.
\q
\v 32 At the acharit \add (latter end, future)\add* it biteth like a nachash,
\q and stingeth with venomous poisons like a viper.
\q
\v 33 Thine eynayim shall behold zarot \add (strange women)\add*,
\q and thine lev shall utter perverse things.
\q
\v 34 Indeed, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the lev yam \add (heart of the sea)\add*,
\q or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
\q
\v 35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt;
\q they have beaten me, and I felt it not.
\q Mosai \add (when)\add* shall I awake?
\q I will seek yet another drink.
\c 24
\q
\v 1 Be not thou envious of anshei ra'ah,
\q neither desire to be with them.
\q
\v 2 For their lev plotteth violence,
\q and their sfatayim \add (lips)\add* talk of amal \add (trouble)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 3 Through chochmah is a bais built,
\q and by tevunah \add (understanding)\add* it is established.
\q
\v 4 And by da'as shall the chadarim \add (chambers, rooms)\add* be filled
\q with all precious and pleasant hon \add (riches, wealth)\add*.
\q
\v 5 A gever chacham is strong;
\q indeed, an ish da'as \add (man of knowledge)\add* increaseth ko'ach.
\q
\v 6 For by tachbulot \add (guidance)\add* thou shalt wage thy milchamah \add (war)\add*,
\q and in a multitude of yo'etz \add (counselors)\add* there is teshu'ah \add (victory, safety)\add*.
\q
\v 7 Chochmah is too lofty for a fool;
\q he openeth not his peh \add (mouth)\add* at the sha'ar.
\b
\q
\v 8 He that plotteth to do evil shall be called
\q a ba'al mezimmot \add (master of schemes)\add*.
\q
\v 9 The scheme of folly is chattat \add (sin)\add*,
\q and the scoffer is a to'evah to adam \add (man)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 10 If thou faint in the yom tzarah,
\q thy strength is small.
\q
\v 11 Save those who are drawn away toward mavet,
\q and hold back those stumbling toward slaughter.
\q
\v 12 If thou sayest, See, we knew it not,
\q doth not He that weigheth the levavot consider it?
\q And He that is guard over thy nefesh, doth not He know it?
\q And shall not He render to every adam according to his works?
\b
\q
\v 13 Beni \add (my son)\add*, eat thou devash, because it is tov;
\q and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste;
\q
\v 14 So shall the knowledge of chochmah be unto thy nefesh;
\q when thou hast found it, then there shall be an acharit \add (latter end, future)\add*,
\q and thy tikvah \add (hope)\add* shall not be cut off.
\b
\q
\v 15 Lay not in wait, O rasha, against the naveh \add (dwelling)\add* of the tzaddik;
\q assault not his resting place;
\q
\v 16 For a tzaddik falleth sheva \add (seven times)\add*, and riseth up again,
\q but the resha'im are overthrown in ra'ah.
\b
\q
\v 17 Gloat not when thine oyev falleth,
\q and let not thine lev rejoice when he stumbleth,
\q
\v 18 Lest \nd Hashem\nd* see it, and it is rah in His eyes,
\q and He turn away His wrath from him.
\b
\q
\v 19 Fret not thyself because of ra'im,
\q neither be thou envious of the resha'im,
\q
\v 20 For there shall be no acharit \add (latter end, future)\add* to the rah;
\q the ner \add (light)\add* of the resha'im shall be put out.
\b
\q
\v 21 Beni \add (my son)\add*, fear thou \nd Hashem\nd* and the Melech,
\q and do not associate with them that are otherwise disposed.
\q
\v 22 For their calamity shall arise suddenly;
\q and who hath da'as of ruin those two\f + \fr 24:22 \fr*\ft i.e., \+nd Hashem\+nd* and the Melech\ft*\f* can bring?
\b
\q
\v 23 These things also belong to chachamim:
\b
\q it is not tov to show partiality in mishpat.
\q
\v 24 He that saith unto the rashah, Thou are tzaddik,
\q him shall the people curse, nations shall detest him;
\q
\v 25 But to them that rebuke the wicked, it is well,
\q and birkat tov shall come upon them.
\q
\v 26 He that giveth an answer that is nakhon \add (right, correct)\add*,
\q giveth a kiss on the sfatayim.
\b
\q
\v 27 Set in order thy outside work,
\q and make ready for thyself in the sadeh;
\q then afterwards build thine bais.
\b
\q
\v 28 Be not an ed \add (witness)\add* against thy re'a without cause,
\q and deceive not with thy sfatayim \add (lips)\add*.
\q
\v 29 Say not,
\q I will do so to him as he hath done to me,
\q I will render to the ish according to his work.
\b
\q
\v 30 I went by the sadeh of the ish atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add*,
\q and went past the kerem \add (vineyard)\add* of the adam chasar lev \add (the man void of lev )\add*,\f + \fr 24:30 \fr*\ft of understanding\ft*\f*
\q
\v 31 And, hinei, it was all grown over with thorns,
\q and charullim \add (nettles)\add* had covered the surface thereof,
\q and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
\q
\v 32 Then I saw, and considered it well in my lev;
\q I looked upon it, and received musar.
\q
\v 33 Yet a little shenot \add (slumber)\add*, a little sleep,
\q a little folding of the yadayim to rest;
\q
\v 34 So shall thy poverty come like a prowler;
\q and thy want like an ish mogen \add (armed warrior)\add*.
\c 25
\q
\v 1 These are also mishlei Sh'lomo,
\q which the anashim of Chizkiyah Melech Yehudah
\q copied out:
\b
\q
\v 2 It is the Kavod Elohim to conceal a thing,
\q but the kavod melachim is to search out a matter.
\q
\v 3 The Shomayim for height, and Eretz for depth,
\q so the lev melachim is unsearchable.
\b
\q
\v 4 Take away the dross from the kesef,
\q and there shall come forth a vessel for the tzoref \add (silversmith)\add*;
\q
\v 5 Take away the rasha from before Melech,
\q and his kisse shall be established in tzedek.
\b
\q
\v 6 Do not exalt thyself in the presence of Melech,
\q and stand not in the makom \add (place)\add* of gedolim;
\q
\v 7 For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up here,
\q than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the noble
\q whom thine eynayim have seen.
\b
\q
\v 8 Go not forth hastily to bring a lawsuit,
\q lest thou know not what to do in the acharit thereof,
\q when thy re'a hath put thee to shame.
\q
\v 9 Plead thy cause with thy re'a himself;
\q and betray not a sod \add (confidence)\add* to another,
\q
\v 10 Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame,
\q and the evil report of thee never depart.
\b
\q
\v 11 A word aptly spoken is like
\q tapukhim \add (apples)\add* of zahav in settings of kesef.
\q
\v 12 As a nezem \add (earring)\add* of zahav, and an ornament of fine gold,
\q so is a mochi'ach chacham \add (a wise reprover)\add* upon an obedient ozen.
\q
\v 13 As the cold of sheleg \add (snow)\add* in the yom katzir \add (day of harvest)\add*,
\q so is a tzir ne'eman \add (faithful envoy)\add* to them that send him;
\q for he refresheth the nefesh of his adonim.
\q
\v 14 He who boasteth falsely of giving
\q is like clouds and ruach \add (wind)\add* without geshem \add (rain)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 15 By forbearance is a katzin \add (ruler)\add* persuaded,
\q and a gentle lashon breaketh the bone.
\q
\v 16 Hast thou found devash? Eat only as much as is sufficient for thee,
\q lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it out.
\q
\v 17 Let thy regel \add (foot)\add* seldom be in thy neighborʼs bais;
\q lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
\q
\v 18 An ish that beareth ed sheker \add (false witness)\add* against his re'a
\q is a club, and a cherev, and a sharp khetz \add (arrow)\add*.
\q
\v 19 Confidence in a boged in the yom tzarah
\q is like a shen ra'ah \add (bad tooth)\add*, and a regel out of joint.
\q
\v 20 As he that taketh away a beged \add (garment)\add* on a cold day,
\q and as chometz \add (vinegar)\add* upon lye,
\q so is he that singeth shirim \add (songs)\add*
\q to a lev rah \add (heavy heart)\add*.\f + \fr 25:20 \fr*\ft i.e., depressed person\ft*\f*
\q
\v 21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him lechem to eat,
\q and if he be thirsty, give him mayim to drink;
\q
\v 22 For so shalt thou heap hot coals upon his rosh,
\q and \nd Hashem\nd* shall reward thee.
\q
\v 23 The ruach tzafon \add (north wind)\add* brings forth geshem;
\q so doth a lashon seter \add (backbiting tongue)\add* bring an angry countenance.
\q
\v 24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the gag \add (roof)\add*,
\q than in a bais shared with a quarrelsome isha.
\q
\v 25 As cold mayim to a weary nefesh,
\q so is good news from a far country.
\q
\v 26 A tzaddik who falters before the rasha is like a muddy spring,
\q and a polluted makor \add (fountain)\add*.
\q
\v 27 It is not tov to eat much devash;
\q so for men to seek their own kavod is not glory.
\q
\v 28 He that hath no rule over his own ruach
\q is like an ir that is broken down, and without a chomah \add (wall)\add*.
\c 26
\q
\v 1 As sheleg \add (snow)\add* in kayitz \add (summer)\add*, and as matar \add (rain)\add* at katzir \add (harvest)\add*,
\q so kavod is not fitting for a kesil \add (fool)\add*.
\q
\v 2 As the tzippor in its fluttering, as the swallow in its flying,
\q so the kelelah \add (curse)\add* without cause shall not alight.
\q
\v 3 A shot \add (whip)\add* for the sus, a bridle for the chamor,
\q and a shevet for the back of kesilim.
\q
\v 4 Answer not a kesil \add (fool)\add* according to his folly,
\q lest thou also be like unto him.
\q
\v 5 Answer a kesil \add (fool)\add* according to his folly,
\q lest he be chacham in his own eyes.
\q
\v 6 He that sendeth a message by the yad of a kesil \add (fool)\add*
\q cutteth off the raglayim, and drinketh chamas.
\q
\v 7 The legs of the pisei'ach \add (lame man)\add* hang limp;
\q so is a mashal in the peh \add (mouth)\add* of kesilim.
\q
\v 8 As he that bindeth an even \add (stone)\add* in a sling,
\q so is he that giveth kavod to a kesil \add (fool)\add*.
\q
\v 9 As a thornbush goeth up into the yad of a shikkor,
\q so is a mashal in the peh \add (mouth)\add* of kesilim.
\q
\v 10 Like an archer wounding all,
\q so is he that hireth the kesil \add (fool)\add*, or hireth the passerby.
\q
\v 11 As a kelev returneth to his vomit,
\q so a kesil \add (fool)\add* returneth to his folly.
\q
\v 12 Seest thou an ish chacham in his own eyes?
\q There is more tikvah \add (hope)\add* for a kesil \add (fool)\add* than for him.
\q
\v 13 The atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* saith, There is a lion in the derech;
\q an ari is in the rechovot.
\q
\v 14 As the delet \add (door)\add* turneth upon its hinges,
\q so doth the atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* upon his mittah \add (bed)\add*.
\q
\v 15 The atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* hideth his yad in his dish;
\q itʼs too tiring to bring it back to his peh \add (mouth)\add* again.
\q
\v 16 The atzel \add (sluggard, lazy one)\add* is chacham in his own eyes,
\q more than seven that give an excellent answer.
\q
\v 17 He that passeth by, and meddleth in a quarrel that doth not belong to him,
\q is like one that taketh a kelev by the oznayim.
\q
\v 18 As a mad man who shooteth
\q firebrands, khitzim \add (arrows)\add*, and mavet,
\q
\v 19 So is the ish that deceiveth his re'a,
\q and saith, Am I not just having a laugh?
\q
\v 20 Where no wood is, there the eish goeth out;
\q so where there is no nirgan \add (gossip, slanderer, talebearer)\add*, the strife dieth down.
\q
\v 21 As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to eish;
\q so is a contentious ish to kindle strife.
\q
\v 22 The devarim of a nirgan \add (gossip, slanderer, talebearer)\add* are like tasty morsels,
\q and they go down into the innermost chambers of the beten.
\q
\v 23 Fervent sfatayim \add (lips)\add* and a lev rah
\q are like earthenware covered with silver dross.
\q
\v 24 He that hateth disguises it with his sfatayim \add (lips)\add*,
\q and within harboreth mirmah \add (deceit)\add*;
\q
\v 25 When he speaketh fair, believe him not;
\q for there are sheva to'avot in his lev.
\q
\v 26 Whose hatred is covered by guile,
\q yet his wickedness shall be exposed before the whole kahal.
\q
\v 27 He who diggeth a shachat \add (pit)\add* shall fall therein,
\q and he that rolleth an even \add (stone)\add*,
\q it will roll back upon him.
\q
\v 28 A lashon sheker hateth those that are crushed by it;
\q and a flattering peh \add (mouth)\add* worketh ruin.
\c 27
\q
\v 1 Boast not thyself of yom makhar \add (tomorrow)\add*,
\q for thou hast no da'as of what a yom may bring forth.
\q
\v 2 Let another praise thee, and not thine own peh \add (mouth)\add*;
\q a nokhri \add (stranger)\add*, and not thine own sfatayim \add (lips)\add*.
\q
\v 3 An even \add (stone)\add* is heavy, and the chol \add (sand)\add* weighty;
\q but a foolʼs wrath is heavier than them both.
\q
\v 4 Chemah \add (anger)\add* is cruel, and fury is a torrent,
\q but who is able to stand before kinah \add (jealousy, envy)\add*?
\q
\v 5 Open tovah tokhakhat \add (good, constructive reproof)\add*
\q is better than secret ahavah.
\q
\v 6 Ne'emanim \add (faithful)\add* are the wounds of an ohev \add (friend)\add*;
\q but deceitful the neshikot \add (kisses)\add* of an enemy.
\q
\v 7 The full nefesh trampleth a honeycomb,
\q but to the hungry nefesh every mar \add (bitter thing)\add* is sweet.
\q
\v 8 As a tzippor that wandereth from her ken \add (nest)\add*,
\q so is an ish that wandereth from his makom \add (place, home)\add*.
\q
\v 9 Shemen and ketoret rejoice the lev;
\q so doth the sweet discourse of a re'a \add (friend)\add* from an atzat nefesh \add (a counselling of the soul)\add*.
\q
\v 10 Thine own re'a \add (friend)\add*,
\q and the re'a avicha, forsake not;
\q neither go into thy brotherʼs bais in the yom of thy calamity;
\q for better is a shakhen \add (neighbor)\add* that is near than a brother far off.
\b
\q
\v 11 Beni \add (my son)\add*, be chacham, and make my lev glad,
\q that I may answer my accusers.
\q
\v 12 A prudent man foreseeth ra'ah, and hideth himself;
\q but the naïve ones trudge on, and are punished.
\q
\v 13 Take his beged \add (garment)\add* that is collateral for a zar;
\q seize the pledge given for surety for a nokhriyah \add (strange woman, foreign woman, seductress)\add*.
\q
\v 14 He that maketh a bracha on his re'a \add (friend)\add*
\q with a kol gadol \add (loud voice)\add*, rising early in the boker,
\q it shall be counted a kelalah to him.
\q
\v 15 A continual dripping in a very rainy day
\q and a quarrelsome isha are alike;
\q
\v 16 To restrain her is like restraining the ruach \add (wind)\add*,
\q and like grasping shemen in the right hand.
\q
\v 17 Barzel \add (iron)\add* sharpeneth barzel \add (iron)\add*;
\q so one ish sharpeneth another.
\q
\v 18 He who is guard over the te'enah \add (fig tree)\add* shall eat the p'ri \add (fruit)\add* thereof,
\q so he that is shomer over his adon shall be honored.
\q
\v 19 As mayim reflecteth the face,
\q so one lev ha'adam reflects another.
\q
\v 20 Sheol and Avaddon are never full;
\q so the eynayim of adam are never satisfied.
\q
\v 21 As the crucible is for kesef, and the furnace for zahav;
\q so is an ish tested by the praise he receives.
\q
\v 22 Though thou shouldest grind a fool
\q in the makhtesh \add (mortar)\add* among grain with the pestle,
\q yet will not his folly be removed from him.
\b
\q
\v 23 Be thou diligent to know the condition of thy tzon,
\q and look well to thy adarim \add (flocks)\add*.
\q
\v 24 For riches are not l'olam \add (forever)\add*;
\q and doth the nezer \add (crown)\add* endure dor vador?
\q
\v 25 The hay is removed, and the deshe \add (tender grass)\add* showeth itself,
\q and herbs of the harim are gathered,
\q
\v 26 The kevasim \add (lambs)\add* are for thy clothing,
\q and the goats are the purchase price of the sadeh.
\q
\v 27 And thou shalt have cholov of izzim \add (goats)\add* enough for thy lechem,
\q for the lechem of thy bais,
\q and for the nourishment of thy na'arot \add (servant girls)\add*.
\c 28
\q
\v 1 The rasha flee when none pursueth;
\q but the tzaddikim are bold as a lion.
\q
\v 2 For the peysha eretz \add (land in rebellion)\add* many are the sarim \add (rulers)\add* thereof,
\q but by an adam meiven yodei'a \add (a man of wisdom and knowledge)\add*
\q shall be lasting order.
\q
\v 3 A gever rahsh \add (poor man)\add* that oppresseth the dalim \add (poor ones)\add*
\q is like a sweeping matar \add (rain)\add* which leaveth no lechem \add (food, crop)\add*.
\q
\v 4 They that forsake the torah praise the rasha,
\q but such as be shomer over the torah contend against them.
\q
\v 5 Anshei rah understand not mishpat,
\q but they that seek \nd Hashem\nd* understand all things.
\q
\v 6 Better is the rahsh \add (poor)\add* that walketh in his integrity,
\q than he that is perverse in his drakhim \add (ways)\add*, though he be rich.
\q
\v 7 He who keepeth torah is a ben meiven,
\q but he that is a companion of zolelim \add (gluttons)\add* shameth aviv.
\q
\v 8 He that by neshekh \add (interest)\add* and increase increaseth his substance,
\q he shall gather it for him that will pity the dalim \add (poor ones)\add*.
\q
\v 9 He that turneth away his ozen from mishmo'a torah \add (heeding torah)\add*,
\q even his tefillah \add (prayer)\add* shall be to'evah \add (abomination)\add*.
\q
\v 10 He who causeth the yesharim \add (upright ones)\add* to go astray in a derech rah,
\q he shall fall himself into his own trap,
\q but the blameless ones shall inherit tov.
\q
\v 11 The ish oisher is chacham in his own eyes,
\q but the dal meiven \add (poor man with understanding)\add* searcheth him out.
\q
\v 12 When tzaddikim do triumph, there is rabbah tiferet \add (great glory)\add*,
\q but when the resha'im rise, the people go into hiding.
\q
\v 13 He that covereth his peysha'im \add (sins)\add* shall not prosper,
\q but he who confesseth and forsaketh them
\q shall find mercy.
\q
\v 14 Ashrei adam that is reverent always,
\q but he that hardeneth his lev shall fall into ra'ah.
\q
\v 15 As a roaring ari, and a charging dov \add (bear)\add*,
\q so is a wicked moshel \add (ruler)\add* over the am dal \add (poor people)\add*.
\q
\v 16 The nagid \add (ruler)\add* lacking tevunot \add (understanding)\add* is also a great oppressor,
\q but he that hateth betza \add (ill-gotten gain)\add* shall prolong his yamim \add (days)\add*.
\q
\v 17 If an adam is burdened with dahm \add (blood, murder)\add* of any nefesh,
\q let him be a fugitive ad bor \add (till the pit, death)\add*;
\q let no ish help him.
\q
\v 18 He who walketh tamim \add (blamelessly)\add* shall be saved,
\q but he that is perverse in his drakhim shall fall suddenly.
\q
\v 19 He that tilleth his adamah shall have plenty of lechem,
\q but he that chaseth after empty things shall have poverty enough.
\q
\v 20 An ish emunot \add (faithful man, loyal man)\add* shall abound with birkhot,
\q but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not go unpunished.
\q
\v 21 To show partiality is not tov;
\q for a piece of lechem that gever will transgress.
\q
\v 22 He that hasteth to be rich hath a rah ayin,
\q and considereth not that want shall come upon him.
\q
\v 23 He that rebuketh an adam afterwards shall find more chen
\q \add (favor)\add* than he that flattereth with the lashon.
\q
\v 24 He who robbeth aviv or immo,
\q and saith, It is no peysha \add (transgression)\add*,
\q the same is the chaver \add (fellow, companion)\add* of an ish mashchit \add (man of destruction)\add*.
\q
\v 25 The covetous stirreth up strife,
\q but he that putteth his trust in \nd Hashem\nd* shall be prospered.
\q
\v 26 He that trusteth in his own lev is a kesil \add (fool)\add*,
\q but he who walketh in chochmah, he shall be delivered.
\q
\v 27 He that giveth unto the rahsh \add (poor)\add* shall not lack,
\q but he that hideth his eynayim meeteth many curses.
\q
\v 28 When the resha'im rise, adam hide themselves,
\q but when they perish, the tzaddikim increase.
\c 29
\q
\v 1 He, that being often reproved, stiffeneth his neck,
\q shall suddenly be destroyed,
\q and that without marpeh \add (remedy)\add*.
\q
\v 2 When the tzaddikim are increased, the people rejoice,
\q but when the rasha beareth rule, the people groan.
\q
\v 3 He who loveth chochmah rejoiceth aviv,
\q but he that keepeth company with zonot squanders his hon \add (substance, wealth)\add*.
\q
\v 4 Melech by mishpat establisheth eretz,
\q but an ish terumot \add (a man of bribes)\add* bringeth it down.
\q
\v 5 A gever that flattereth his neighbor
\q spreadeth a reshet \add (net)\add* for his feet.
\q
\v 6 By peysha \add (transgression)\add* an ish rah is snared,
\q but the tzaddik doth sing and have simchah.
\q
\v 7 The tzaddik considereth the cause of the dalim,
\q but the rasha \add (wicked)\add* doeth not understand such da'as \add (knowledge)\add*.
\q
\v 8 Scornful men enflame a city,
\q but chachamim turn away af \add (wrath)\add*.
\q
\v 9 If an ish chacham has to contend with a fool,
\q he\f + \fr 29:9 \fr*\ft the fool\ft*\f* rageth or laugheth, and hath no rest.
\q
\v 10 The anshei damim hate the blameless,
\q but the yesharim seek his nefesh \add (soul, i.e., well-being)\add*.\f + \fr 29:10 \fr*\ft i.e., his soulʼs well-being\ft*\f*
\q
\v 11 A kesil \add (fool)\add* uttereth all his wrath,
\q but a chacham keepeth it back quietly.
\q
\v 12 If a moshel pays heed to davar sheker,
\q all his mesharetim \add (officials, ministers)\add* are resha'im.
\q
\v 13 The rahsh \add (pauper)\add* and the oppressor have this in common:
\q \nd Hashem\nd* enlighteneth both their eynayim.
\q
\v 14 If Melech shofet be'emes \add (judges in truth)\add* the dalim,
\q his kisse shall be established forever.
\q
\v 15 The shevet \add (rod)\add* and tokhakhat \add (reproof)\add* give chochmah,
\q but a na'ar \add (child)\add* left to himself bringeth immo to shame.
\q
\v 16 When the resha'im are multiplied, peysha \add (transgression)\add* increaseth,
\q but the tzaddikim shall see their downfall.
\q
\v 17 Correct binecha, and he shall give thee rest;
\q indeed, he shall give delight unto thy nefesh.
\q
\v 18 Where there is no chazon \add (prophetic vision)\add*, the people cast off restaint,\f + \fr 29:18 \fr*\ft i.e., perish ungovernable\ft*\f*
\q but he that is shomer over the torah, happy is he.
\q
\v 19 An eved will not be corrected by devarim,
\q for though he understand he will not answer.
\q
\v 20 Seest thou an ish that is hasty in his devarim?
\q There is more tikvah for a kesil \add (fool)\add* than for him.
\q
\v 21 He that pampers his eved from youth up
\q shall have him as his ben at the acharit \add (end)\add*.
\q
\v 22 An ish af \add (angry man)\add* stirreth up strife,
\q and a ba'al chemah \add (ill-tempered man)\add* aboundeth in peysha \add (transgression)\add*.
\q
\v 23 Ga'avat adam \add (pride of man)\add* shall bring him low,
\q but the humble in ruach shall attain kavod.
\q
\v 24 He who is partner with a ganav hateth his own nefesh;
\q he heareth the curse of the victim but discloses nothing.
\q
\v 25 The fear of adam bringeth a mokesh \add (snare)\add*,
\q but he who putteth his trust in \nd Hashem\nd* shall be secure.
\q
\v 26 Many seek the moshelʼs favor,
\q but mishpat ish cometh from \nd Hashem\nd*.
\q
\v 27 An unjust man is a to'evah to the tzaddikim,
\q and he that is yeshar derech \add (upright in the way)\add* is to'evah to the rasha.
\c 30
\p
\v 1 The devarim of Agur Ben Yakeh, even the massa; the gever \add (man)\add* spoke unto Itiel, even unto Itiel and Ukhal:
\b
\q
\v 2 Surely I am more stupid than any ish,
\q and have not the binat adam.
\q
\v 3 I neither learned chochmah,
\q nor have the da'as of the Kedoshim.
\q
\v 4 Who hath ascended into Shomayim, or descended?
\q Who hath gathered ruach in the hollows of His hands?
\q Who hath bound the mayim in a cloak?
\q Who hath established all the afsei aretz \add (ends of the earth)\add*?
\q What is Shmo \add (His Name)\add*,
\q and what is Shem Bno \add (the Name of His Son )\add*,\f + \fr 30:4 \fr*\ft See Memra, creative Word of G-d in Targumim\ft*\f*
\q if thou canst tell?
\b
\q
\v 5 Every word of G-d is flawless;
\q He is a mogen unto them that take refuge in Him.
\q
\v 6 Add thou not unto His devarim,
\q lest He rebuke thee, and thou be found a kazav \add (liar)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 7 Two things have I required of thee;
\q deny me them not before my mot;
\q
\v 8 Remove far from me shav \add (vanity, falsehood)\add* and davar kazav \add (word of a liar)\add*;
\q give me neither poverty nor osher;
\q feed me lechem chukki \add (my daily bread)\add*;
\q
\v 9 Lest I be full, and deny Thee,
\q and say, Who is \nd Hashem\nd*?
\q Or lest I be poor, and become a ganav,
\q and profane the Shem of Elohai.
\b
\q
\v 10 Do not slander an eved unto his adon,
\q lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
\b
\q
\v 11 There is a dor \add (generation)\add* that curseth its av,
\q and doth not make a bracha on its em.
\q
\v 12 There is a dor \add (generation)\add* that is tahor \add (pure)\add* in its own eynayim,
\q and yet is not washed from its filthiness.
\q
\v 13 There is a dor \add (generation)\add*, O how haughty in loftiness are their eynayim!
\q And their eyelids are proudly lifted up.
\q
\v 14 There is a dor \add (generation)\add*, whose teeth are as charavot \add (swords)\add*,
\q and their jaw teeth are as knives,
\q to devour the aniyim \add (oppressed poor ones)\add* from off ha'aretz,
\q and the evyonim \add (needy ones)\add* from among adam.
\b
\q
\v 15 The leech hath two banot: Give! Give!
\q There are shalosh \add (three)\add* that are never satisfied,
\q indeed, four things never say, Enough!
\q
\v 16 Sheol, and the barren womb;
\q eretz that is never satisfied with mayim;
\q and eish that saith not, Enough!
\b
\q
\v 17 The ayin \add (eye)\add* that mocketh at av,
\q and scorneth to obey em,
\q the ravens of the valley shall peck it out,
\q and the bnei nesher shall eat it.
\b
\q
\v 18 There are shalosh which are too wonderful for me,
\q indeed, four which I understand not;
\q
\v 19 The derech hanesher \add (way of the eagle)\add* in the sky;
\q the derech nachash upon a tzur \add (rock)\add*;
\q the derech oniyah \add (way of a sailing vessel)\add* in the midst of the yam \add (sea)\add*;
\q and the derech gever \add (way of a man)\add* with an almah \add (unmarried young virgin)\add*.\f + \fr 30:19 \fr*\ft See \+xt Gn 24:16,43,63-65\+xt*\ft*\f*
\b
\q
\v 20 Such is the derech isha mena'efet \add (way of an adulterous woman)\add*:
\q she eateth, and wipeth her peh \add (mouth)\add*,
\q and saith, I have done no wrong.
\b
\q
\v 21 For shalosh the eretz is disquieted,
\q and for four which it cannot bear:
\q
\v 22 For an eved \add (slave)\add* when he reigneth;
\q and a naval \add (fool)\add* when he is full with lechem;
\q
\v 23 For an unloved woman when she is married;
\q and a shifchah that displaces her gevirah \add (lady, mistress)\add*.
\b
\q
\v 24 There are four things which are little upon eretz,
\q but they are exceeding chachamim:
\q
\v 25 The nemalim \add (ants)\add* are an am \add (people)\add* not strong,
\q yet they store up their lechem in the kayitz \add (summer)\add*;
\q
\v 26 The badgers are but a feeble folk,
\q yet they make their bais in the rocks;
\q
\v 27 The arbeh \add (locusts)\add* have no melech,
\q yet they go forth all of them in ranks;
\q
\v 28 The lizard can be held in the hands,
\q yet is in heikhelot \add (palaces)\add* of a melech.
\b
\q
\v 29 There are shloshah which are majestic in stride,
\q indeed, four are stately in walk:
\q
\v 30 A lion which is gibbor among behemah \add (beasts)\add*,
\q and retreateth not from any;
\q
\v 31 The strutting rooster; the he-goat also;
\q and a melech, when his army is with him.
\b
\q
\v 32 If thou hast done foolishly in exalting thyself,
\q or if thou hast devised rah, lay thine yad upon thy peh.
\q
\v 33 Surely the churning of cholov \add (milk)\add* bringeth forth khemah \add (butter)\add*,
\q and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth dahm;
\q so the stirring up of anger bringeth forth strife.
\c 31
\q
\v 1 The devarim of Lemuel Melech,
\q the massa \add (burden, oracle)\add* that immo taught him.
\b
\q
\v 2 What, my bar \add (son)\add*?\f + \fr 31:2 \fr*\ft See \+xt Ps 2:12\+xt*\ft*\f* And what, the bar of my womb?
\q And what, the bar of my nedarim \add (vows)\add*?
\q
\v 3 Give not thy strength unto nashim,
\q nor thy drakhim to that which destroyeth melachim.
\q
\v 4 It is not for melachim, O Lemuel,
\q it is not for melachim to drink yayin;
\q nor for rulers to crave strong drink;
\q
\v 5 Lest they drink, and forget the decree,
\q and pervert the justice of the bnei oni \add (all the oppressed afflicted people)\add*.
\q
\v 6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,
\q and yayin unto those that be of bitter nefesh.
\q
\v 7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty,
\q and remember his amal \add (misery)\add* no more.
\q
\v 8 Open thy peh \add (mouth)\add* for the illem \add (mute)\add*
\q in the cause of all such as are bnei chalof \add (sons of destitution)\add*.
\q
\v 9 Open thy peh \add (mouth)\add*, judge tzedek,
\q and plead the cause of the oni and the evyon.
\b
\q
\v 10 Who can find an aishes chayil \add (a woman of valor, an excellent wife)\add*?\f + \fr 31:10 \fr*\ft \+xt Prov 12:4\+xt*\ft*\f*
\q For her worth is far above rubies.
\q
\v 11 The lev of her ba'al \add (husband)\add* doth securely trust in her,
\q so that he shall have no lack of gain.
\q
\v 12 She will do him tov and not rah
\q all the days of her life.
\q
\v 13 She seeketh tzemer \add (wool)\add*, and flax,
\q and worketh willingly with her palms.
\q
\v 14 She is like the oniyyot socher \add (ship merchant)\add*;
\q she bringeth her lechem from afar.
\q
\v 15 She riseth also while it is yet lailah,
\q and provideth food to her bais,
\q and a chok \add (portion)\add* to her na'arot \add (servant girls)\add*.
\q
\v 16 She considereth a sadeh, and buyeth it;
\q with the fruit of her palms she planteth a kerem \add (vineyard)\add*.
\q
\v 17 She girdeth her loins with strength,
\q and strengtheneth her zero'ot \add (arms)\add*.
\q
\v 18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is tov;
\q her ner \add (light)\add* goeth not out balailah.
\q
\v 19 She layeth her yadayim to the distaff,
\q and her fingers lay hold of the spindle.
\q
\v 20 She extends her palms to the oni;
\q indeed, she reacheth forth her yadayim to the evyon \add (needy)\add*.
\q
\v 21 She is not afraid of the sheleg \add (snow)\add* for her bais;
\q for all her bais are clothed with scarlet.
\q
\v 22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry;
\q her levush \add (clothing)\add* is fine linen and purple.
\q
\v 23 Her ba'al \add (husband)\add* is known in the she'arim,
\q when he sitteth among the ziknei eretz.
\q
\v 24 She maketh fine garments, and selleth them;
\q and delivereth sashes unto the kena'ani \add (merchant)\add*.
\q
\v 25 Oz \add (strength)\add* and hadar \add (dignity)\add* are her clothing;
\q and her smile is toward the yom acharon \add (coming day, future)\add*.
\q
\v 26 She openeth her peh \add (mouth)\add* with chochmah;
\q and on her lashon is the torat chesed \add (teaching of kindness)\add*.
\q
\v 27 She watcheth well over the halichot \add (goings, ways)\add* of her bais \add (household)\add*,
\q and eateth not the lechem atzlut \add (bread of idleness)\add*.
\q
\v 28 Her banim rise up, and call her blessed;
\q her ba'al \add (husband)\add* also, and he praiseth her.
\q
\v 29 Rabbot banot have done virtuously,
\q but thou excellest them all.
\q
\v 30 Chen \add (charm)\add* is sheker \add (deceitful)\add*, and yofi \add (beauty)\add* is fleeting;
\q but an isha Yirat \nd Hashem\nd* \add (a G-d fearing wife)\add*, she shall be praised.
\q
\v 31 Give her of the p'ri \add (fruit)\add* of her yadayim;
\q and let her own ma'asim praise her in the she'arim.