On speech
1 There is a bad time to rebuke someone. Those who keep silent are the prudent ones.
2
How much better to investigate than to be angry!
3
And those who confess openly will be kept from loss.
4
Like eunuchs desiring to violate a girl, so are those who make decisions by force.
5
There are people who are silent and are found to be wise, and there are those who are hated because they talk a lot.
6
There are those who keep silent because they have nothing to say in response, and there are those who keep silent because they know the right time.
7
Wise people keep silent until the proper moment, but those who swagger and are senseless will miss the right moment.
8
Those who talk excessively will be loathed, and those who pretend to have authority will be hated. in bad circumstances, and there's a windfall that results in loss.
9
Some people have success
10
There's a gift that won't profit you, and there's a gift that will bring twice the return.
11
There are losses suffered for the sake of one's reputation, and there are people who have raised their heads from humiliation.
12
There are those who buy a lot for a little, and they pay for it seven times over.
13
Wise people make themselves dearly loved by means of words, but fools pour out gifts.
14
Gifts from senseless people won't profit you, because they look for a lot rather than a little in return.
15
They will give a little and reproach a lot, and they will open their mouths like a town crier. Today they will lend and tomorrow ask for it back; such people are hateful.
16
Fools say, "I don't have a friend, and there's no gratitude for my good deeds." Those who eat the bread of such people have mean tongues.
17
How many will ridicule them, and how often?
18
A slip on the pavement is preferable to a slip of the tongue; so the downfall of evil people will come quickly.
19
A disagreeable person, an untimely story— it will always be in the mouth of the uneducated.
20
Proverbs told by fools will be rejected, because they'll never tell them at their proper time.
21
Some are prevented from sinning because of poverty, and their conscience won't be pained when they rest.
22
Some destroy their life through shame, and they destroy it because of foolish appearances.
23
Some promise a favor to a friend out of shame, and they create an enemy for no reason.
24
A lie is a bad blemish on a person; ignorant people tell them incessantly.
25
A thief is preferable to someone who continuously lies, but both will inherit destruction.
26
The character of liars is dishonorable; their shame is continuously with them.
Proverbial sayingsl
27 Wise people distinguish themselves by their words, and prudent people will please the powerful.
28
Those who work the soil will pile up their harvest, and those who please the powerful will secure reconciliation for injuries.
29
Friendly relationships and gifts will blind the eyes of the wise; like a muzzle on a mouth, they turn away reproof.
30
Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure— of what benefit is either?
31
Better are those who hide their foolishness than those who hide their wisdom.