16
A sinner wastes the property of his guarantor,
17
and the ungrateful person abandons his rescuer.
18
Being surety has ruined many who were prosperous, and has tossed them about like waves of the sea; it has driven the influential into exile, and they have wandered among foreign nations.
19
The sinner comes to grief through surety; his pursuit of gain involves him in lawsuits.
20
Assist your neighbor to the best of your ability, but be careful not to fall yourself.
21
The necessities of life are water, bread, and clothing, and also a house to assure privacy.
22
Better is the life of the poor under their own crude roof than sumptuous food in the house of others.
23
Be content with little or much, and you will hear no reproach for being a guest.
24
It is a miserable life to go from house to house; as a guest you should not open your mouth;
25
you will play the host and provide drink without being thanked, and besides this you will hear rude words like these:
26
"Come here, stranger, prepare the table; let me eat what you have there."