1Wine makes people mock, and beer makes them loud. Anyone led astray by them is not wise.
2The king's terror is like the roar of a lion. Anyone who makes him angry risks their own life.
3It is honorable for a person to stay out of arguments; but every fool will quarrel.
4A lazy person won't plow because of winter; so when harvest comes, they will beg and have nothing.
5Thoughts in a person's mind are like deep water, but a person with understanding can draw them out.
6Many people claim to be loving, but who can find someone truly faithful?
7A righteous person lives with integrity. Their children are blessed after them.
8A king who sits on the throne of judgment drives away all evil just by looking at it.
9Who can truly say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean and free from sin”?
10Yahweh detests both unfair weights and unfair measures.
11Even a child shows what they are like by their actions, whether their conduct is pure and right.
12Yahweh made both the ear that hears and the eye that sees.
13Don't love sleep, or you will become poor. Keep your eyes open, and you will have plenty of food.
14“It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer; but after leaving, they boast about their purchase.
15There is plenty of gold and many rubies, but knowledgeable words are a rare and valuable treasure.
16Take the coat of anyone who guarantees a stranger’s debt, and hold it as security for someone who is sexually immoral.
17Food gained dishonestly tastes sweet at first, but later it feels like sand in your mouth.
18Plans succeed when you get good advice; you will win a war with wise guidance.
19Someone who gossips reveals secrets, so don’t associate with people who talk too much.
20Anyone who curses their father or mother will have their life extinguished in utter darkness.
21Wealth obtained too quickly at the beginning will not be blessed in the end.
22Don’t say, “I’ll get back at them for the evil they did.” Wait for Yahweh, and he will rescue you.
23Yahweh hates dishonest weights, and fraudulent scales are not acceptable to him.
24Yahweh directs a person's steps; how then can anyone understand their own path?
25It is dangerous for someone to carelessly make a sacred promise and then later regret their vows.
26A wise king separates the wicked like sifting grain and punishes them severely.
27The human spirit is like Yahweh’s lamp, searching out all of a person’s deepest thoughts and feelings.
28Faithful love and loyalty protect the king; his rule is kept strong by love.
29The strength of young men is their pride, and the gray hair of old men is their honor.
30Painful blows remove evil, and beatings cleanse a person's innermost being.