1. Boast not thyself of (a) tomorrow: for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
(a) Do not delay the time, but take the opportunity when it is offered.
2. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
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3. A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.
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4. Anger is cruel, and wrath is raging: but who can stand before (b) envy?
(b) For the envious are obstinate, and cannot be reconciled.
5. Open rebuke is better than secret love.
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6. The wounds of a lover are faithful, and the kisses of an enemy are (c) pleasant.
(c) They are flattering and seem friendly.
7. The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet
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8. As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
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9. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.
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10. Thine own friend and thy father's friend forsake thou not: neither enter into thy brother's (d) house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbor that is near, than a brother far off.
(d) Do not trust any worldly help in the day of your trouble.
11. My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
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12. (e) A prudent man seeth the plague, and hideth himself: but the foolish go on still, and are punished.
13. Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
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14. He that praiseth his friend with a loud voice, rising (f) early in the morning, it shall be counted to him as a curse.
(f) Hastily and without cause.
15. A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
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16. Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
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17. Iron sharpeneth iron, so doeth (g) man sharpen the face of his friend.
(g) One hasty man provokes another to anger.
18. Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
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19. As in water face answereth to face, (h) so the heart of man to man.
(h) There is no difference between men by nature, only the grace of God makes the difference.
20. Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
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21. As is the fining pot for silver and the furnace for gold, so is every man according to his (i) dignity.
(i) That is, he is either known to be ambitious and glorious, or humble and modest.
22. Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
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23. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
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24. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?
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25. The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
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26. The lambs (k) are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.
(k) This declares the great goodness of God towards man, and the diligence that he requires from him for the preservation of his gifts.
27. And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens
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