Historical
16 The plans of the lev belong to adam, and the answer of the lashon is from Hashem.
2 All the drakhei ish are pure in his own eynayim, but Hashem weigheth the ruchot.
3 Commit thy ma’asim (works) unto Hashem, and thy plans shall be established.
4 Hashem works out all things for Himself, indeed, even the rasha (wicked) for the Yom Ra’ah (day of evil).
5 Every one that is proud in lev is to’evat Hashem; though yad join in yad, he shall not go unpunished.
6 By chesed and emes avon is purged, and by the Yirat Hashem men depart from rah.
7 When drakhei ish please Hashem, He maketh even his oyevim to be in shalom with him.
8 Better is a little with tzedakah than great revenues without mishpat (justice).
9 The lev adam plans his derech, but Hashem directeth his steps.
10 A kesem (oracle) is on the sfatayim (lips) of Melech, his peh (mouth) must not betray mishpat.
11 A just weight and balance are Hashem’s, all the weights of the bag are His concern.
12 It is to’evat melachim to commit resha (wickedness), for the kisse is established through tzedakah.
13 Sfatayim (lips) of tzedek are the delight of melachim; and they love him that speaketh yesharim (upright things).
14 The wrath of a melech is as malachim of mavet, but an ish chacham will appease it.
15 In the light of the countenance of melech is chayyim, and his favor is like the cloud of a spring rain.
16 How much better is it to acquire chochmah than zahav, and acquiring binah (understanding) a better choice than kesef!
17 The mesilat yesharim (highway of the upright) is to depart from rah; he that guards his derech is shomer over his nefesh (soul).
18 Ga’on (pride) goeth before shever (destruction), and a ruach of haughtiness before a fall.
19 Better it is to be of a humble ruach among the anayim, than to divide the plunder with the proud.
20 He that wisely heeds the Davar shall find tov (good), and he who trusteth in Hashem, happy is he.
21 The chacham lev shall be called prudent, and the sweetness of the sfatayim (lips) adds to learning.
22 Seichel is a Makor Chayyim unto him that hath it, but the musar (instruction, discipline) of fools is folly.
23 The lev chacham guides his peh (mouth), and addeth learning to his sfatayim (lips).
24 Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the nefesh, and marpeh (healing) to the atzmot (bones).
25 There is a derech that seemeth yashar (right) before an ish, but its acharit (future, latter end) is the drakhei mavet.
26 The nefesh (appetite) of the laborer works for him, for his peh (mouth) of hunger driveth him on.
27 An ish Beliya’al diggeth up ra’ah, and in his sfatayim (lips) there is as a scorching eish.
28 A perverse ish soweth madon (strife, dissension), and a whisperer separateth close friends.
29 An ish chamas enticeth his re’a, and leadeth him into the derech that is not good.
30 He winking his eynayim to plot perverse things, compressing his sfatayim (lips), bringeth ra’ah to pass.
31 The silvery hair is an ateret tiferet; it is found in the derech tzedakah.
32 He that is slow to anger is better than the gibbor; and he that ruleth his ruach than he that captures a city.
33 The goral is cast into the kheyk (lap), but the whole decision thereof is from Hashem.
17 Better is a dry crust, and quietness therewith, than a bais full of zevakhim (sacrificial religious meals) with strife.
2 An eved maskil (wise servant) shall have rule over a ben that causeth shame, and shall have a share of the nachalah among the achim.
3 The crucible is for kesef, and the furnace for zahav, but Hashem is the testor of hearts.
4 An evildoer giveth heed to false sfatayim (lips), and a sheker (liar) giveth ear to a spiteful lashon.
5 He who mocketh the poor showeth contempt for his Oseh (Maker), and he that gloats at calamities shall not go unpunished.
6 Bnei banim are the ateret of zekenim; and the tiferet of banim are their avot.
7 Eloquent speech becometh not a naval (fool), much less do lying sfatayim (lips) a ruler.
8 A shochad (gift, bribe) is like a charm in the eynayim of him that hath it: wherever he turneth, he prospereth.
9 He that covereth a peysha (transgression) seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth the best of friends.
10 Ge’arah (scolding) goeth deeper into a meiven than a hundred blows into a kesil (fool).
11 A rah seeketh only rebellion; therefore a merciless malach shall be sent to him.
12 Let an ish meet a dov robbed of her cubs rather than a kesil in his folly.
13 He who rewardeth ra’ah for tovah, ra’ah shall not depart from his bais.
14 The beginning of madon (strife) is like releasing mayim, therefore stop contention before a quarrel begins.
15 He that justifieth the rashah, and he that condemneth the tzaddik, even they both are to’evah to Hashem.
16 Why is there the purchase price in the yad of a kesil (fool) to acquire chochmah, seeing he hath no lev for it?
17 The re’a (friend) loveth at all times, and a brother is born for tzarah (adversity).
18 Adam devoid of lev [of understanding] shaketh hands in pledge, and becometh the security deposit for his neighbor.
19 He loveth peysha (transgression, sin) that loveth strife, and he that maketh his threshold high seeketh shever (fracture).
20 He that hath a crooked mind findeth no tov, and he that hath a deceitful lashon falleth into ra’ah.
21 He that begetteth a kesil doeth it to his sorrow, and the avi naval hath no simchah.
22 A lev same’ach doeth tov like a medicine, but a downcast ruach drieth up the bones.
23 A rasha accepts a shochad (bribe) out of the kheyk (bosom, i.e., secretly) to pervert the orkhot mishpat (paths of justice).
24 Chochmah is before the meiven (discerning one); but the eynayim of a kesil are on the ends of ha’aretz.
25 A ben kesil is a ka’as (grief) to aviv (his father), and bitterness to her that bore him.
26 Also to punish the tzaddik is not tov, nor to flog officials for their yashar (uprightness, integrity).
27 He that hath da’as spareth his words, and an ish tevunah (man of understanding) is of a calm ruach.
28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted chacham, and he that shutteth his sfatayim (lips) is esteemed a man of understanding.
18 A man who separates himself seeks his own ta’avah (desire); he defies all tushiyyah (wisdom, sound judgment).
2 A kesil (fool) hath no delight in tevunah (understanding), but only in airing out his lev (mind, opinions).
3 When the rashah cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with dishonor, cherpah (reproach, disgrace).
4 The devarim of a man’s mouth are deep mayim; the makor chochmah is a flowing stream.
5 It is not tov to show partiality to the rashah, to subvert the tzaddik in mishpat.
6 The sfatayim (lips) of a kesil enter into contention, and his peh (mouth) inviteth blows.
7 The peh (mouth) of a kesil is his undoing, and his sfatayim (lips) are the mokesh (snare) of his nefesh.
8 The devarim of a nirgan (gossip, talebearer, slanderer) are like mitlachamim (delicious tidbits), and they go down into the innermost parts of the beten (belly).
9 He also that is slack in his work is brother to him that is ba’al mashchit (master of destruction).
10 The Shem of Hashem is a strong migdal (tower), the tzaddik runneth into it, and is safe.
11 The oisher’s wealth is his strong city, and is a high chomah in his own conceit.
12 Before shever (destruction) the lev ish is haughty, and before kavod is anavah (humility).
13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and kelimmah (reproach, shame) unto him.
14 The ruach ish will sustain him in sickness, but a crushed ruach who can bear?
15 The lev of the prudent acquireth da’as, and the ozen of the chachamim seeketh da’as.
16 The mattan adam (gift of a man) openeth the way for him, and bringeth him before gedolim.
17 He that is harishon (the first) to make his case seemeth tzaddik, but his re’a cometh and doth cross-examine him.
18 The goral (lot) causeth contentions to cease, and keepeth the mighty apart.
19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and their contentious quarrelings are like the bars of an armon (citadel).
20 An ish’s beten shall be filled with the fruit of his peh (mouth), and with the produce of his sfatayim (lips) shall he be satisfied.
21 Mavet and chayyim are in the power of the lashon, and they that love it shall eat the p’ri (fruit) thereof.
22 He who findeth an isha (wife) findeth tov, and obtaineth ratzon (favor) from Hashem.
23 The poor useth entreaties, but the oisher answereth roughly.
24 An ish of many companions may come to ruin, but there is an ohev (friend) that sticketh closer than a brother.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International