19
Your name can be preserved if you have children or if you establish a city, but finding Wisdom is a better way. Owning livestock and orchards will make you famous, but it is better to have a wife you love.
20
Wine and music can make you happy, but a happy marriage is even better.
21
Flutes and harps make fine music, but a pleasant voice is better than either.
22
Gracefulness and beauty please the eye, but not as much as new growth in the spring.
23
You can't go wrong with a good friend or neighbor, but an intelligent wife is better than either.
24
Relatives and helpers are good to have in times of trouble, but it will be an even greater help if you have made a practice of giving to the poor.
25
Gold and silver provide security, but good advice is better.
26
Wealth and strength give confidence, but the fear of the Lord can give you even greater confidence. When you fear the Lord you need nothing more; it is all the support you need.
27
The fear of the Lord is like a rich garden of blessings; you could not want a more glorious shelter.
28
My child, don't live the life of a beggar; it is better to die than to beg.
29
If you have to depend on someone else for your food, you are not really living your own life. You pollute yourself by accepting food from another. Begging is torture to the soul of any sensitive person.