Axial Commons
Hebrew / Jewish
Prepare thy works for [thy] going forth, and prepare thyself for the field; and come after me, and thou shalt rebuild thine house.
Be not a false witness against thy [fellow] citizen, neither exaggerate with thy lips.
Say not, As he has treated me, so will I treat him, and I will avenge myself on him for that wherein he has injured me.
A foolish man is like a farm, and a senseless man is like a vineyard.
If thou let him alone, he will altogether remain barren and covered with weeds; and he becomes destitute, and his stone walls are broken down.
Afterwards I reflected, I looked that I might receive instruction.
[The sluggard says], I slumber a little, and I sleep a little, and for a little while I fold my arms across [my] breast.
But if thou do this, thy poverty will come speedily; and thy want like a swift courier.
The horse-leech had three dearly-beloved daughters: and these three did not satisfy her; and the fourth was not contented so as to say, Enough.
The grave, and the love of a woman, and the earth not filled with water; water also and fire will not say, It is enough.
The eye that laughs to scorn a father, and dishonours the old age of a mother, let the ravens of the valleys pick it out, and let the young eagles devour it.
Moreover there are three things impossible for me to comprehend, and the fourth I know not:
the track of a flying eagle; and the ways of a serpent on a rock; and the paths of a ship passing through the sea; and the ways of a man in youth.
Such is the way of an adulterous woman, who having washed herself from what she has done, says she has done nothing amiss.
By three things the earth is troubled, and the fourth it cannot bear:
if a servant reign; or a fool be filled with food;
or if a maid-servant should cast out her own mistress; and if a hateful woman should marry a good man.
And [there are] four very little things upon the earth, but these are wiser than the wise:
the ants which are weak, and [yet ] prepare [their ] food in summer;
the rabbits also [are ] a feeble race, who make their houses in the rocks.
The locusts have no king, and [yet ] march orderly at one command.
And the eft, which supports itself by [its ] hands, and is easily taken, dwells in the fortresses of kings.
And there are three things which go well, and a fourth which passes along finely.
A lion's whelp, stronger than [all other] beasts, which turns not away, nor fears [any ] beast;
and a cock walking in boldly among the hens, and a goat leading the herd; and a king publicly speaking before a nation.
If thou abandon thyself to mirth, and stretch forth thine hand in a quarrel, thou shalt be disgraced.
Milk out milk, and there shall be butter, and if thou wring [one's ] nostrils there shall come out blood: so if thou extort words, there will come forth quarrels and strifes.
My words have been spoken by God—the oracular answer of a king, whom his mother instructed.
What wilt thou keep, my son, what? the words of God. My firstborn son, I speak to thee: what? son of my womb? what? son of my vows?
Give not thy wealth to women, nor thy mind and living to remorse. Do all things with counsel: drink wine with counsel.
Princes are prone to anger: let them then not drink wine:
lest they drink, and forget wisdom, and be not able to judge the poor rightly.
Give strong drink to those that are in sorrow, and the wine to drink to those in pain:
that they may forget their poverty, and may not remember their troubles any more.
Open thy mouth with the word of God, and judge all fairly.
Open thy mouth and judge justly, and plead the cause of the poor and weak.
These are the miscellaneous instructions of Solomon, which the friends of Ezekias king of Judea copied out.
The glory of God conceals a matter: but the glory of a king honours business.
Heaven is high, and earth is deep, and a king's heart is unsearchable.
Beat the drossy silver, and it shall be made entirely pure.
Slay the ungodly from before the king, and his throne shall prosper in righteousness.
Be not boastful in the presence of the king, and remain not in the places of princes;
for [it is] better for thee that it should be said, Come up to me, than that [one] should humble thee in the presence of the prince; speak of that which thine eyes have seen.
Get not suddenly into a quarrel, lest thou repent at last.
Whenever thy friend shall reproach thee, retreat backward, despise [him] not;
lest thy friend continue to reproach thee, so thy quarrel and enmity shall not depart, but shall be to thee like death.
[As] a golden apple in a necklace of sardius, so [is it] to speak a [wise] word.
In an ear-ring of gold a precious sardius is also set; [so is] a wise word to an obedient ear.
As a fall of snow in the time of harvest is good against heat, so a faithful messenger [refreshes] those that send him; for he helps the souls of his employers.
As winds and clouds and rains are most evident [objects], so is he that boasts of a false gift.
In long-suffering is prosperity to kings, and a soft tongue breaks the bones.
Having found honey, eat [only] what is enough, lest haply thou be filled, and vomit it up.
Enter sparingly into thy friend's house, lest he be satiated with thy company, and hate thee.
[As] a club, and a dagger, and a pointed arrow, so also is a man who bears false witness against his friend.
The way of the wicked and the foot of the transgressor shall perish in an evil day.
As vinegar is bad for a sore, so trouble befalling the body afflicts the heart.
If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink;
for so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee [with] good.
The north wind raises clouds; so an impudent face provokes the tongue.
[It is] better to dwell on a corner of the roof, than with a railing woman in an open house.
As cold water is agreeable to a thirsting soul, so is a good message from a land far off.
As if one should stop a well, and corrupt a spring of water, so [is it] unseemly for a righteous man to fall before an ungodly man.
[It is] not good to eat much honey; but it is right to honour venerable sayings.
As a city whose walls are broken down, and which is unfortified, so is a man who does anything without counsel.
As dew in harvest, and as rain in summer, so honour is not [seemly] for a fool.
As birds and sparrows fly, so a curse shall not come upon any one without a cause.
As a whip for a horse, and a goad for an ass, so [is] a rod for a simple nation.
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou become like him.
Yet answer a fool according to his folly, lest he seem wise in his own conceit.
He that sends a message by a foolish messenger procures for himself a reproach from his own ways.
[As well] take away the motion of the legs, as transgression from the mouth of fools.
He that binds up a stone in a sling, is like one that gives glory to a fool.
Thorns grow in the hand of a drunkard, and servitude in the hand of fools.
All the flesh of fools endures much hardship; for their fury is brought to nought.
As when a dog goes to his own vomit, and becomes abominable, so is a fool who returns in his wickedness to his own sin.
I have seen a man who seemed to himself to be wise; but a fool had more hope than he.
A sluggard when sent on a journey says, [There is] a lion in the ways, and [there are] murderers in the streets.
As a door turns on the hinge, so does a sluggard on his bed.
A sluggard having hid his hand in his bosom, will not be able to bring it up to his mouth.
A sluggard seems to himself wiser than one who most satisfactorily brings back a message.
As he that lays hold of a dog's tail, so is he that makes himself the champion of another's cause.
As those who need correction put forth [fair] words to men, and he that first falls in with the proposal will be overthrown;
so are all that lay wait for their own friends, and when they are discovered, say, I did it in jest.
With much wood fire increases; but where there is not a double-minded man, strife ceases.
A hearth for coals, and wood for fire; and a railing man for the tumult of strife.
The words of cunning knaves are soft; but they smite [even] to the inmost parts of the bowels.
Silver dishonestly given is to be considered as a potsherd: smooth lips cover a grievous heart.
A weeping enemy promises all things with his lips, but in his heart he contrives deceit.
Though [thine] enemy intreat thee with a loud voice, consent not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.
He that hides enmity frames deceit: but being easily discerned, exposes his own sins in the public assemblies.
He that digs a pit for his neighbour shall fall into it: and he that rolls a stone, rolls it upon himself.
A lying tongue hates the truth; and an unguarded mouth causes tumults.
Boast not of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what the next day shall bring forth.
Let thy neighbour, and not thine own mouth, praise thee; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
A stone is heavy, and sand cumbersome; but a fool's wrath is heavier than both.
Wrath is merciless, and anger sharp: but envy can bear nothing.
Open reproofs are better than secret love.
The wounds of a friend are more to be trusted than the spontaneous kisses of an enemy.
A full soul scorns honeycombs; but to a hungry soul even bitter things appear sweet.
As when a bird flies down from its own nest, so a man is brought into bondage whenever he estranges himself from his own place.