Problems Caused by Money
1 Worrying about money will make you lose weight and lose sleep. 2 Worrying about business will keep you from sleeping just as surely as a serious illness does.
3 Rich people work hard to make a lot of money; then they can sit back and live in luxury. 4 Poor people work hard and have nothing to show for it, and when they rest, they are still poor.
5 No one who loves money can be judged innocent; his efforts to get rich have led him into sin. 6 Many people have been ruined because of money, brought face-to-face with disaster. 7 Money is a trap for those who are fascinated by it, a trap that every fool falls into.
8 A person who gets rich without sinfully chasing after money is fortunate. 9 Do you know anyone like that? If so, we will congratulate him for performing a miracle that no one else has ever been able to do. 10 If anyone has ever passed this test, he can well be proud. Has anyone ever known that he could get away with cheating someone, and not taken advantage of it? 11 If so, he deserves his wealth, and everyone will praise him for his generosity.
Behavior at Dinner Parties
12 When you sit down at a fancy banquet, don't let your mouth hang open, and don't say, “Look at all that food!” 13 It is impolite to have a greedy eye; remember that. Nothing in creation is greedier than the eye; that is why it sheds tears so often. 14 Don't reach out for everything you see, and don't elbow people out of the way to get at the food. 15 Be considerate of the other people at the table and treat them the way you want to be treated. 16 When you get your food, eat it like a human being. Don't smack and slurp; nobody can stand that. 17 It's good manners to be the first to stop eating; stuffing yourself is offensive. 18 If there are many people present, don't try to be the first to be served. 19 A little bit is plenty for anyone with good manners. Besides, you won't be short of breath when you go to bed. 20 People who eat too much get stomach aches and cannot sleep. If you don't overeat, you can get a good night's sleep and wake up early the next morning feeling fine. 21 But if you do get a stomach ache from eating too much, go off and vomit and you will feel better. 22 My child, if you listen to what I am saying and put it into practice, one of these days you will thank me for it. Be moderate in everything you do, and you will never get sick.
23 People appreciate a generous host, and he deserves their praise. 24 But everybody in town will complain about a host who is stingy with food, and their complaints are justified.
25 Don't try to prove your manhood by how much you can drink. Wine has been the ruin of many. 26 An arrogant person's character shows through when he is in a drunken argument, in the same way that iron is tested when it is heated red-hot and then dipped in water. 27 Wine can put new life into you if you drink it in moderation. What would life be like without it? Wine was created to make us happy. 28 If you drink it in moderation and at the right time, it can lift your spirits and make you cheerful, 29 but if you drink when you are angry and upset, it leads to headaches, embarrassment, and disgrace. 30 A drunken fool can lose his temper and hurt himself. His drinking makes him weak and an easy target for angry blows. 31 Never rebuke a person when you have both been drinking. Don't hurt his feelings while he is having a good time. It's not the time to criticize anyone, or to ask him to pay back a debt.
1 Watching for riches consumeth the flesh, and the care thereof driveth away sleep.
2 Watching care will not let a man slumber, as a sore disease breaketh sleep,
3 The rich hath great labour in gathering riches together; and when he resteth, he is filled with his delicates.
4 The poor laboureth in his poor estate; and when he leaveth off, he is still needy.
5 He that loveth gold shall not be justified, and he that followeth corruption shall have enough thereof.
6 Gold hath been the ruin of many, and their destruction was present.
7 It is a stumblingblock unto them that sacrifice unto it, and every fool shall be taken therewith.
8 Blessed is the rich that is found without blemish, and hath not gone after gold.
9 Who is he? and we will call him blessed: for wonderful things hath he done among his people.
10 Who hath been tried thereby, and found perfect? then let him glory. Who might offend, and hath not offended? or done evil, and hath not done it?
11 His goods shall be established, and the congregation shall declare his alms.
12 If thou sit at a bountiful table, be not greedy upon it, and say not, There is much meat on it.
13 Remember that a wicked eye is an evil thing: and what is created more wicked than an eye? therefore it weepeth upon every occasion.
14 Stretch not thine hand whithersoever it looketh, and thrust it not with him into the dish.
15 Judge not thy neighbour by thyself: and be discreet in every point.
16 Eat as it becometh a man, those things which are set before thee; and devour not, lest thou be hated.
17 Leave off first for manners’ sake; and be not unsatiable, lest thou offend.
18 When thou sittest among many, reach not thine hand out first of all.
19 A very little is sufficient for a man well nurtured, and he fetcheth not his wind short upon his bed.
20 Sound sleep cometh of moderate eating: he riseth early, and his wits are with him: but the pain of watching, and choler, and pangs of the belly, are with an unsatiable man.
21 And if thou hast been forced to eat, arise, go forth, vomit, and thou shalt have rest.
22 My son, hear me, and despise me not, and at the last thou shalt find as I told thee: in all thy works be quick, so shall there no sickness come unto thee.
23 Whoso is liberal of his meat, men shall speak well of him; and the report of his good housekeeping will be believed.
24 But against him that is a niggard of his meat the whole city shall murmur; and the testimonies of his niggardness shall not be doubted of.
25 Shew not thy valiantness in wine; for wine hath destroyed many.
26 The furnace proveth the edge by dipping: so doth wine the hearts of the proud by drunkeness.
27 Wine is as good as life to a man, if it be drunk moderately: what life is then to a man that is without wine? for it was made to make men glad.
28 Wine measurably drunk and in season bringeth gladness of the heart, and cheerfulness of the mind:
29 But wine drunken with excess maketh bitterness of the mind, with brawling and quarrelling.
30 Drunkenness increaseth the rage of a fool till he offend: it diminisheth strength, and maketh wounds.
31 Rebuke not thy neighbour at the wine, and despise him not in his mirth: give him no despiteful words, and press not upon him with urging him to drink .