1 Many have sinned for a small matter; and he that seeketh for abundance will turn his eyes away.
2 As a nail sticketh fast between the joinings of the stones; so doth sin stick close between buying and selling.
3 Unless a man hold himself diligently in the fear of the Lord, his house shall soon be overthrown.
4 As when one sifteth with a sieve, the refuse remaineth; so the filth of man in his talk.
5 The furnace proveth the potter’s vessels; so the trial of man is in his reasoning.
6 The fruit declareth if the tree have been dressed; so is the utterance of a conceit in the heart of man.
7 Praise no man before thou hearest him speak; for this is the trial of men.
8 If thou followest righteousness, thou shalt obtain her, and put her on, as a glorious long robe.
9 The birds will resort unto their like; so will truth return unto them that practise in her.
10 As the lion lieth in wait for the prey; so sin for them that work iniquity.
11 The discourse of a godly man is always with wisdom; but a fool changeth as the moon.
12 If thou be among the indiscreet, observe the time; but be continually among men of understanding.
13 The discourse of fools is irksome, and their sport is the wantonness of sin.
14 The talk of him that sweareth much maketh the hair stand upright; and their brawls make one stop his ears.
15 The strife of the proud is bloodshedding, and their revilings are grievous to the ear.
16 Whoso discovereth secrets loseth his credit; and shall never find friend to his mind.
17 Love thy friend, and be faithful unto him: but if thou betrayest his secrets, follow no more after him.
18 For as a man hath destroyed his enemy; so hast thou lost the love of thy neighbor.
19 As one that letteth a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou let thy neighbour go, and shalt not get him again
20 Follow after him no more, for he is too far off; he is as a roe escaped out of the snare.
21 As for a wound, it may be bound up; and after reviling there may be reconcilement: but he that betrayeth secrets is without hope.
22 He that winketh with the eyes worketh evil: and he that knoweth him will depart from him.
23 When thou art present, he will speak sweetly, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and slander thy sayings.
24 I have hated many things, but nothing like him; for the Lord will hate him.
25 Whoso casteth a stone on high casteth it on his own head; and a deceitful stroke shall make wounds.
26 Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that setteth a trap shall be taken therein.
27 He that worketh mischief, it shall fall upon him, and he shall not know whence it cometh.
28 Mockery and reproach are from the proud; but vengeance, as a lion, shall lie in wait for them.
29 They that rejoice at the fall of the righteous shall be taken in the snare; and anguish shall consume them before they die.
30 Malice and wrath, even these are abominations; and the sinful man shall have them both.
1 Many people have sinned while looking for a profit; if you want to be rich you have to keep blinders on your eyes. 2 It is hard to remove a peg that is stuck between two stones of a house, and it is just as hard to remove dishonesty from buying and selling. 3 Unless you are determined in your fear of the Lord, your house is going to come down on you.
Speech Reflects True Feelings
4 Your talk shows your faults; it is like a sieve that separates out the rubbish. 5 The way you think shows your character just as surely as a kiln shows any flaws in the pottery being fired. 6 You can tell how well a tree has been cared for by the fruit it bears, and you can tell a person's feelings by the way he expresses himself. 7 Never praise anyone before you hear him talk; that is the real test.
Honesty
8 If you try to be honest, you can be, and it will improve your character as handsome clothing improves your appearance. 9 Birds come to roost with those of their own kind, and the habit of honesty comes to those who try to be honest. 10 Sin waits for those looking for a chance to sin, just as a lion waits for prey.
Foolish Talk
11 When devout people talk, what they say always makes sense, but foolish people are always contradicting themselves. 12 When you find yourself with stupid people, look for some excuse to leave, but when you are with serious-minded people, stay as long as you can.
13 The stories that foolish people tell are offensive, and they make jokes about the worst kinds of sin. 14 When such people curse, it is enough to make your hair stand on end, and when they start arguing among themselves, all you can do is to stop up your ears. 15 It is painful to listen to them insult each other, and such blustering can lead to violence.
Betraying Secrets
16 If you repeat secrets that have been told to you, you are destroying the confidence others have in you, and you will never have a close friend. 17 Respect your friends, and keep faith with them. If you do betray a friend's confidence, you may as well forget you have a friend. 18 You have killed that friendship just as surely as if you had taken a weapon and killed an enemy. 19 Your friend is gone. You can no more get him back than you can get a bird to come back to your hand once you let it go. 20 Don't bother going after him. It's too late. He is gone, like a deer escaped from a trap. 21 Wounds can be bandaged and insults can be forgiven, but if you betray a confidence, it is hopeless.
Hypocrisy
22 When someone starts winking at you, he has something bad in mind, and nothing can stop him from going through with it. 23 When he's with you, his talk is so nice! He compliments you on every word you say. But behind your back it's a different story; he will take what you have said and turn it against you. 24 There is nothing in the world that I hate as much as a person like that—and the Lord hates him too.
25 Throw a stone straight up in the air and it will come down on your head. Strike a blow, and you yourself will be wounded. 26 People who set traps fall into them themselves. 27 People who hurt others will be hurt by their own actions and will have no idea why.
28 Arrogant people insult others and make fun of them, but someone is waiting like a lion for a chance to take revenge on them. 29 Those who are happy to witness the downfall of devout people are going to fall into a trap and die a painful death.
Resentment
30 Anger and a hot temper are horrible things, but sinners have both.