Miscellaneous Advice
1-2 If you do no wrong, no wrong will ever come to you. 3 Do not plow the ground to plant seeds of injustice; you may reap a bigger harvest than you expect.
4 Don't ask the Lord for a place of honor or ask the king for an important position. 5 Don't try to convince the Lord that you are righteous or make a show of your wisdom before the king. 6 Don't set your heart on being a judge, unless you have the strength of character it takes to put an end to injustice. If you let yourself be influenced by someone in a position of power, your integrity will be damaged. 7 Don't commit any crime against the general public, and don't disgrace yourself among your townspeople.
8 Don't commit the same sin twice. The punishment you get the first time ought to be enough.
9 Don't think that God Most High is going to take into account how very generous you are and so accept any offering you decide to make.
10 Never get tired of praying, and never miss a chance to give to the poor.
11 Don't laugh at someone who has been humiliated. It is the Lord who humbles a person, but the Lord also raises him up again.
12 Don't think up lies to tell about your friends. 13 Don't tell lies at all. It never does any good.
14 In an official assembly, don't get up and talk a lot of nonsense. And don't repeat yourself when you pray.
15 Don't try to avoid farm work or other hard labor; the Most High has given us these jobs to do.
16 Don't join up with a crowd of sinners; remember that the Lord's punishment is sure to come.
17 Be very humble, because the decay of death awaits us all.
Relations with Others
18 Don't betray a friend for money. Don't betray a real friend for all the gold in the world.
19 Don't miss your chance to marry a wise and good woman. A gracious wife is worth more than gold.
20 Don't mistreat servants who do their work well, or employees who do their best for you.
21 Show the same love to wise servants that you would show to yourself, and let them have their freedom.
22 Take good care of any animals you own. If they make money for you, keep them.
23 If you have sons, educate them. Teach them self-discipline while they are young.
24 If you have daughters, keep them virtuous, and don't be too indulgent with them. 25 When you give your daughter in marriage, you have finished a great task, but give her to a sensible man.
26 If you have a good wife, do not divorce her, but do not trust yourself to someone you don't love.
27 Honor your father with all your heart, and never forget how your mother suffered when you were born. 28 Remember that you owe your life to them. How can you ever repay them for all they have done for you?
29 Fear the Lord with all your heart, and have respect for his priests. 30 Love your Creator with all your strength, and give his ministers your support. 31 Honor the Lord and respect the priests. Supply them with what you have been commanded to give: the first produce, the offering for sin, the shoulder of the sacrificial animal—all the required sacrifices and offerings.
32 Give your help to the poor, and the Lord will give you his perfect blessing. 33 Be generous to every living soul, and be gracious to the memory of the dead. 34 Show sympathy to those who have lost a loved one, and mourn with them. 35 Do not hesitate to visit the sick. You will be loved for things like these. 36 Whatever you do, remember that some day you must die. As long as you keep this in mind, you will never sin.
1 Do no evil, so shall no harm come unto thee.
2 Depart from the unjust, and iniquity shall turn away from thee.
3 My son, sow not upon the furrows of unrighteousness, and thou shalt not reap them sevenfold.
4 Seek not of the Lord preeminence, neither of the king the seat of honour.
5 Justify not thyself before the Lord; and boast not of thy wisdom before the king.
6 Seek not to be judge, being not able to take away iniquity; lest at any time thou fear the person of the mighty, an stumblingblock in the way of thy uprightness.
7 Offend not against the multitude of a city, and then thou shalt not cast thyself down among the people.
8 Bind not one sin upon another; for in one thou shalt not be unpunished.
9 Say not, God will look upon the multitude of my oblations, and when I offer to the most high God, he will accept it.
10 Be not fainthearted when thou makest thy prayer, and neglect not to give alms.
11 Laugh no man to scorn in the bitterness of his soul: for there is one which humbleth and exalteth.
12 Devise not a lie against thy brother; neither do the like to thy friend.
13 Use not to make any manner of lie: for the custom thereof is not good.
14 Use not many words in a multitude of elders, and make not much babbling when thou prayest.
15 Hate not laborious work, neither husbandry, which the most High hath ordained.
16 Number not thyself among the multitude of sinners, but remember that wrath will not tarry long.
17 Humble thyself greatly: for the vengeance of the ungodly is fire and worms.
18 Change not a friend for any good by no means; neither a faithful brother for the gold of Ophir.
19 Forego not a wise and good woman: for her grace is above gold.
20 Whereas thy servant worketh truly, entreat him not evil, nor the hireling that bestoweth himself wholly for thee.
21 Let thy soul love a good servant, and defraud him not of liberty.
22 Hast thou cattle? have an eye to them: and if they be for thy profit, keep them with thee.
23 Hast thou children? instruct them, and bow down their neck from their youth.
24 Hast thou daughters? have a care of their body, and shew not thyself cheerful toward them.
25 Marry thy daughter, and so shalt thou have performed a weighty matter: but give her to a man of understanding.
26 Hast thou a wife after thy mind? forsake her not: but give not thyself over to a light woman.
27 Honour thy father with thy whole heart, and forget not the sorrows of thy mother.
28 Remember that thou wast begotten of them; and how canst thou recompense them the things that they have done for thee?
29 Fear the Lord with all thy soul, and reverence his priests.
30 Love him that made thee with all thy strength, and forsake not his ministers.
31 Fear the Lord, and honor the priest; and give him his portion, as it is commanded thee; the firstfruits, and the trespass offering, and the gift of the shoulders, and the sacrifice of sanctification, and the firstfruits of the holy things.
32 And stretch thine hand unto the poor, that thy blessing may be perfected.
33 A gift hath grace in the sight of every man living; and for the dead detain it not.
34 Fail not to be with them that weep, and mourn with them that mourn.
35 Be not slow to visit the sick: for that shall make thee to be beloved.
36 Whatsoever thou takest in hand, remember the end, and thou shalt never do amiss.