Open English Translation SIR Chapter 22

22 A slothful man is compared to a stone that’s defiled.

Everyone will hiss at him in his disgrace.

2 A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill.

Anyone who picks it up will shake it out of his hand.

3 An undisciplined child is a disgrace to his father,

and a foolish daughter is born to his loss.

4 A prudent daughter will inherit a husband of her own.

She who brings shame is the grief of her father.

5 She who’s arrogant brings shame on father and husband.

She’ll be despised by both of them.

6 Ill-timed conversation is like music in mourning,

but stripes and correction are wisdom in every season.

7 He who teaches a fool is like one who glues potsherds together,

even like one who wakes a sleeper out of a deep sleep.

8 He who teaches a fool is as one who teaches a man who slumbers.

In the end he’ll say, “What’s it?”9-10 [fn]

11 Weep for the dead, for he lacks light.

Weep for a fool, for he lacks understanding.

Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he’s found rest,

but the life of the fool is worse than death.

12 Mourning for the dead lasts seven days,

but for a fool and an ungodly man, it lasts all the days of his life.

13 Don’t talk much with a foolish man,

and don’t go to one who has no understanding.

Beware of him, or his attack might bring you trouble and defile you.

Turn away from him, and you’ll find rest,

and you won’t be wearied in his madness.

14 What’d be heavier than lead?

What’s its name, but “Fool”?

15 Sand, salt, and a mass of iron is easier to bear

than a man without understanding.

16 Timber girded and bound into a building won’t be released with shaking.

So a heart established in due season on well advised counsel won’t be afraid.

17 A heart settled on a thoughtful understanding

is as an ornament of plaster on a polished wall.

18 Fences set on a high place won’t stand against the wind;

so a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool won’t stand against any fear.

19 He who pricks the eye will make tears fall.

He who pricks the heart makes it show feeling.

20 The person who throws a stone at birds, scares them away.

He who insults a friend will dissolve friendship.

21 If you’ve drawn a sword against a friend, don’t despair,

for there may be a way back.

22 If you’ve opened your mouth against a friend, don’t be afraid,

for there may be reconciliation,

unless it’s for insulting, arrogance, disclosing of a secret, or a treacherous blow—

for these things any friend will flee.

23 Gain trust with your neighbour in his poverty,

that in his prosperity you may have gladness.

Stay steadfast to him in the time of his affliction,

that you may be heir with him in his inheritance.[fn]

24 Before fire is the vapour and smoke of a furnace,

so insults precede bloodshed.

25 I won’t be ashamed to shelter a friend.

I won’t hide myself from his face.

26 If any evil happens to me because of him,

everyone who hears it’ll beware of him.

27 Who’ll set a watch over my mouth,

and a seal of shrewdness on my lips,

that I may not fall from it, and that my tongue may not destroy me?