22:1 The slothful man is like a filthy stone, And every one flees from its stench.
22:2 A slothful man is like the filth of a dunghill, Everyone who takes it up shakes it out of his hand.
22:3 Shame [there is] to the father who begets an uninstructed [son], And a daughter is born to his loss.
22:4 A prudent daughter is an inheritance to her husband, But she who brings shame is a grief to him who begat her.
22:5 She who is bold brings shame on her father and husband, And she is despised by both.
22:6 [As] music in time of mourning, [so is] unseasonable talk; But stripes and correction are at all times wisdom.
22:7 He who teaches a fool is [as] one who glues together a potsherd, [Or as] one who awakens a sleeper out of a deep sleep.
22:8 He who discourses to a fool is as one discoursing to him who slumbers, And at the end he says, "What is it?"
22:11 Mourn for the dead, for [his] light has failed, And mourn for a fool, for understanding has failed [him]. Weep gently for the dead, for he has found rest; But the life of a fool is worse than death.
22:12 The mourning for the dead is for seven days, But the mourning for a fool is for all the days of his life.
22:13 Do not talk much with a foolish man, And do not go on the road with a pig, Beware of him lest you have trouble, And you become defiled when he shakes himself; Turn from him and you will find rest, And [so] you will not be wearied with his folly.
22:14 What is heavier than lead, And what is its name but "Fool"?
22:15 Sand and salt and a weight of iron Are easier to bear than a senseless man.
22:16 [As] timber firmly fixed into the wall Is not loosened by an earthquake, So a heart established on well-advised counsel Will not be fearful in time [of danger].
22:17 A heart fixed on thoughtful understanding Is as an ornament graven on a polished wall.
22:18 Small stones lying upon a high place Will not remain against the wind, So will the fearsome heart [full of] foolish imagination Be unable to withstand any terror.
22:19 A wound in the eye makes tears flow, And a wound in the heart severs friendship.
22:20 He who throws stones at birds scares them away, And he who reproaches a friend dissolves friendship.
22:21 Even if you draw the sword against a friend, Do not despair, for there is a way out.
22:22 If you open your mouth against a friend, Do not fear, for there is a [way of] reconciliation; But reproach, arrogance, betrayal of a secret, and a deceitful blow, In these every friend will depart.
22:23 Support your neighbor in poverty, That in his prosperity you may rejoice; Remain steadfast to him in time of [his] affliction, That you may be heir with him in his inheritance.
22:24 Before the fire is the vapor of the furnace and smoke, So revilings before bloodshed.
22:25 Do not be ashamed of a friend who becomes poor, And do not hide yourself from his face;
22:26 And if evil happens to him through you, Whoever hears it will beware of you.
22:27 O that one would set a watch over my mouth, And a seal of shrewdness upon my lips, That I do not fall by means of them, And that my tongue does not destroy me.