If you have a friend, don't let him go
1Do not boast about
what you will do tomorrow,
because you don't know
what will happen tomorrow.
2Don't praise yourself.
Someone else from another place can do it.
3Stones and sand are very heavy
if you have to carry them,
but a fool who makes you angry
is even worse.
4Someone who is angry can be cruel
and destroy everything like a water flood,
but someone who is jealous is much worse.
5It is better to be honest and
tell someone that he has done wrong
than to love him but
never show that you care for him.
6When a friend hurts you,
he does it because he wants to help you,
but when your enemy kisses you,
he wants to deceive you.
7If someone has eaten too much,
his food does not taste good,
not even honey, but when
he is hungry, anything tastes good,
even something that is bad or bitter.
8Anyone who leaves his home
and goes away is like a bird
flying away from her nest.
9The sweet smell of perfume
and incense makes you feel good,
but if your friend gives you
good advice, it is even better.
10Don't forget your friends
or your father's friends.
Don't always go to your family for help
when you have trouble.
A neighbour who is near you
can be better than a brother who is far away.
11My child, you must be wise.
That will make me happy,
and then I will be able to answer
when someone accuses you
of doing bad things.
12A wise person can see
when trouble is coming and he hides himself,
but people who don't know much about life
walk into trouble and they suffer.
13If you have promised
to pay the debt of another person
whom you do not know,
you must take his coat and keep it
until he pays what he owes you.
14If you shout_loudly when you
greet a person early in the morning,
it will sound to him
like a curse, not like a blessing.
15A woman who keeps arguing
is like a roof that keeps leaking when it rains.
16You can not stop her,
like you can not stop the wind
or hold a lot of olive oil in your hand.
17One piece of iron can help
another piece of iron to become sharp.
That is how one person can help
another one to become wise.
18Someone who takes good care
of a fig tree will have figs to eat.
In the same way,
if a slave takes good care of his owner,
his owner will respect that slave.
19When you look at water,
you can see your face in it,
and when you look into your mind or heart,
you can see the things that you are thinking
and it shows what kind of person you are.
20The grave and the underworld
will never become full or say
they have enough. People are the same,
because they always want more and more,
and they can never get enough.
21People melt silver in a pot and
they melt gold in a furnace to test it,
but people are being tested
when other people praise them.
22Even if you beat a fool with a pole,
you can not take the foolishness out of him
and he will stay a fool.
You must know if your sheep and goats are healthy
23You must know if your sheep
and goats are healthy.
You must take good care
of your herds of animals
24because the money and
everything you have could disappear
and a king will not rule forever.
25You must cut grass and
store the straw when it grows again.
Get all the food for your animals on the hills
26and then you will have a lot of sheep
and lambs, and a lot of wool
to make clothes, and you can sell
your goats to buy more land.
27You will have enough goats' milk
for yourself and your family,
and for the girls who work for you.
