1 A drunken workman shall not be made rich; and he that chargeth not little sins[or who despiseth little things], falleth down into grievouser sins, little and little.

2 Wine and women make to be apostates, yea, wise men [or Wine and women make also wise men to go backward]; and they reprove witting men. And he that joineth himself to whores, shall be wicked;

3 rot and worms shall inherit him, and he shall be set on high into more ensample, and his soul shall be taken away from [the] number of chosen men.

4 He that believeth soon, is un-stable [or light] in heart, and shall be made less; and he that trespasseth against his soul, shall be had fur-thermore.

5 He that joyeth in wickedness, shall be cursed; and he that hateth blaming, shall be made less in life; [Who joyeth in wickedness, shall be reproved; and who hateth correction, shall be lessened in life;]

6 and he that hateth jangling [or much speech], quencheth malice. He that sinneth against his soul, shall [not] repent; and that is merry in malice, shall be cursed [or reproved].

7 Rehearse thou not an hard word, and wicked [or shrewd]; and thou shalt not be made less.

8 Do not thou tell thy wit to friend and to enemy; and if trespass is to thee, do not thou make it naked.

9 For he shall hear thee, and shall keep thee, and he as defending the sin shall hate thee; and so he shall be ever with thee.

10 Thou hast heard a word against thy neighbour; die it altogether in thee, and trust thou that it shall not break thee.

11 A fool travaileth greatly of the face of a word, as the sorrow of bearing of a young child [or as the wailing of the birth of a child].

12 An arrow fastened in the hip of a dog, so a word in the heart of a fool.

13 Reprove thou [or Chastise] a friend, lest peradventure he under-stand not, and say, I did not; either if he hath done, lest he add to do again.

14 Reprove thou [or Chastise] a neighbour, lest peradventure he say it not; and if he saith it, lest perad-venture he rehearse it.

15 Reprove thou [or Chastise] a friend, for why trespassing is done often; and believe thou not to each word.

16 There is a man that falleth [or slideth] by his tongue, but not of will, that is, wittingly and of purpose. For why who is he, that trespasseth not in his tongue?

17 Reprove thou [or Chastise] a neighbour, betwixt thee and him, before that thou menace [or threaten]him; and give thou place to the dread of the Highest.

18 (This verse is omitted in the original text.)

19 (This verse is omitted in the original text.)

20 For why all wisdom is the dread of God, and in that wisdom for to dread God; and the ordinance of law is in all wisdom [or in all wisdom the disposing of the law].

21 (This verse is omitted in the original text.)

22 And the teaching of wickedness is not wisdom; and the prudence of sins is not good thought [or good thinking is not the prudence of sins].

23 There is wickedness of prudence, and cursedness is therein; and there is an unwise man, which is made little in wisdom.

24 Better is a man that hath little wisdom, and failing in wit, in the dread of God, than he that hath plenty of wit, and breaketh [or over-passeth] the law of the Highest.

25 There is certain subtlety [or sly-ness], and it is wicked. And there is a man, that sendeth out a certain word, telling out [the] truth.

26 There is a man that meeketh himself wickedly to deceive men the more; and his inner things be full of guile [or treachery].

27 And there is a just [or rightwise] man, that maketh low greatly [or under-putteth] himself of much meek-ness; and there is a just [or rightwise] man, that boweth the face, and feigneth him to see not [or not to see] that, that is unknown.

28 Though he is forbidden of feeble-ness of strengths to do sin [or if of infirmity of strengths he is forbidden to sin]; if he findeth time to do evil, he shall do evil.

29 A man is known by sight; and a witting man is known by meeting of face.

30 The clothing of body, and the laughing of teeth, and the entering [or going in] of a man, tell out of him.