¹A good reputation is preferable to great wealth;

Good grace is preferable to silver and gold.

²Rich and poor meet each other;

The maker of all of them is the Lord.

³The prudent man sees evil and hides,

But the gullible cross over to it,

And pay the penalty.

⁴It is by meekness and fear of the Lord

That riches and honour and life are obtained.

⁵Thorns and snares lie on the way of the perverse;

He who guards his life

Distances himself from them.

⁶Initiate a youth along his way,

Then even when he grows old,

He will not depart from it.

⁷The rich man will rule over the poor,

And he who borrows is servant to the man who lends.

⁸He who sows injustice

Will reap iniquity,

And his offensive regime

Will come to an end.

For he gives some of his bread to the poor.

¹⁰Drive out the mocker,

And contention will depart,

And strife and shame will cease.

¹¹As for him who loves the pure in heart,

His lips are graceful;

The king is his friend.

¹²The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,

But he has overthrown the words of the treacherous man.

¹³The lazy man says,

“There is a lion in the open;

I will be killed on the streets.”

¹⁴The mouths of the foreign women are a deep pit;

He with whom the Lord is angry

Will fall there.

¹⁵Foolishness is bound to the heart of a boy,

But the rod of correction will put him at a distance from it.

¹⁶He who oppresses the poor to enrich himself

And he who gives to the rich man

Will surely be in need.

¹⁷Incline your ear

And hear the words of the wise,

And direct your heart to my knowledge.

¹⁸For it is pleasant if you keep them inwardly;

Together they are ready to be on your lips

¹⁹So that your trust should be in the Lord.

Today it is to you that I have made it known

– To your very self.

²⁰ Have I not written thirty times to you

With pieces of advice and knowledge?

²¹– To make known to you the veracity of truthful sayings

So that it is with truthful sayings that you can answer

Those who send for you.

²²Do not rob a poor man,

For he is poor,

And do not tread a needy man down at the gate.

²³For the Lord will defend their interest,

And he will despoil the livelihood

Of those who despoiled them.

²⁴Do not associate with a bad-tempered man,

And you shall not go with a man prone to fury,

²⁵In case you learn his ways,

And you pick up a snare for your life.

²⁶Do not be among those who strike a deal

– Among those who are surety for debts.

²⁷If you do not have the means to pay,

Why let anyone take your bed from under you?

²⁸Do not move an age-old boundary marker

Which your fathers put in place.

²⁹Have you seen a man going about his work efficiently?

He will stand before kings;

He will not stand before the low-bred.

Reference(s) in Chapter 22: v.9 ↔ 2 Corinthians 9:7.