1WINE IS a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler; and whoever errs {or} reels because of it is not wise.
2The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger {or} angers himself against him sins against his own life.
3It is an honor for a man to cease from strife {and} keep aloof from it, but every fool will quarrel.
4The sluggard does not plow when winter sets in; therefore he begs in harvest and has nothing.
5Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out.
6Many a man proclaims his own loving-kindness {and} goodness, but a faithful man who can find?
7The righteous man walks in his integrity; blessed (happy, fortunate, enviable) are his children after him.
8A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows out all evil [like chaff] with his eyes.
9Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
10Diverse weights [one for buying and another for selling] and diverse measures--both of them are exceedingly offensive {and} abhorrent to the Lord.
11Even a child is known by his acts, whether [or not] what he does is pure and right.
12The hearing ear and the seeing eye--the Lord has made both of them.
13Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread.
14It is worthless, it is worthless! says the buyer; but when he goes his way, then he boasts [about his bargain].
15There is gold, and a multitude of pearls, but the lips of knowledge are a vase of preciousness [the most precious of all].
16[The judge tells the creditor] Take the garment of one who is security for a stranger; and hold him in pledge when he is security for foreigners.
17Food gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18Purposes {and} plans are established by counsel; and [only] with good advice make {or} carry on war.
19He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; therefore associate not with him who talks too freely.
20Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in complete darkness.
21An inheritance hastily gotten [by greedy, unjust means] at the beginning, in the end it will not be blessed.
22Do not say, I will repay evil; wait [expectantly] for the Lord, and He will rescue you.
23Diverse {and} deceitful weights are shamefully vile {and} abhorrent to the Lord, and false scales are not good.
24Man's steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?
25It is a snare to a man to utter a vow [of consecration] rashly and [not until] afterward inquire [whether he can fulfill it].
26A wise king winnows out the wicked [from among the good] and brings the threshing wheel over them [to separate the chaff from the grain].
27The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.
28Loving-kindness {and} mercy, truth {and} faithfulness, preserve the king, and his throne is upheld by [the people's] loyalty.
29The glory of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is their gray head [suggesting wisdom and experience].
30Blows that wound cleanse away evil, and strokes [for correction] reach to the innermost parts.