18
For sorrow results in death, and sorrow of heart saps one's strength.
19
In calamity sorrow continues, and the life of the poor man weighs down his heart.
20
Do not give your heart to sorrow; drive it away, remembering the end of life.
21
Do not forget, there is no coming back; you do the dead no good, and you injure yourself.
22
"Remember my doom, for yours is like it: yesterday it was mine, and today it is yours."
23
When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance cease, and be comforted for him when his spirit is departed.
24
The wisdom of the scribe depends on the opportunity of leisure; and he who has little business may become wise.
25
How can he become wise who handles the plow, and who glories in the shaft of a goad, who drives oxen and is occupied with their work, and whose talk is about bulls?
26
He sets his heart on plowing furrows, and he is careful about fodder for the heifers.
27
So too is every craftsman and master workman who labors by night as well as by day; those who cut the signets of seals, each is diligent in making a great variety; he sets his heart on painting a lifelike image, and he is careful to finish his work.
28
So too is the smith sitting by the anvil, intent upon his handiwork in iron; the breath of the fire melts his flesh, and he wastes away in the heat of the furnace; he inclines his ear to the sound of the hammer, and his eyes are on the pattern of the object. He sets his heart on finishing his handiwork, and he is careful to complete its decoration.