1 A drunken workman shall not be made rich; and he that chargeth not little sins[or 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 witty, (or witting, or knowing) 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 (own) soul, shall be had furthermore.

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

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

7 Rehearse thou (or Repeat) not an hard word, and wicked; and thou shalt not be made less.

8 Do not thou tell thy wit to friend and (or) to (an) 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(more) with thee.

10 Thou hast heard a word against thy neighbour; die it (al)together in (or with) thee, and trust thou that it shall not break thee.

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

12 An arrow fastened [or fixed] 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 understand not, and say, I did (it) not; either if he hath done (it), lest he add to do (it) again.

14 Reprove thou [or Chastise] a neigh-bour, lest peradventure he say (it) not; and if he saith [or said](it), lest per-adventure he rehearse (or repeat 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 that slideth] by his tongue, but not of will, that is, wittingly and of (or on) purpose. For why who is he, that trespasseth not in (or with) 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 [or the disposing] of (the) law is in all wisdom.

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. [And wisdom is not the discipline of shrewdness (or depravity); and 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. [There is shrewdness (or depravity) of prudence, and in it cursing; and there is an unwise man, that is less(en)ed 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 [or aboundeth in] wit, and breaketh the law of the Highest.

25 There is (a) certain subtlety [or slyness], 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. [There is, that shrewdly meeketh himself; and the entrails of him be full of treachery.]

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

28  (Even) Though [or And if] he is forbidden of (or by the) feebleness [or infirmity] of strengths to do sin; if he findeth (the) time to do evil, he shall do evil.

29 A man is known by (his) sight (or by his appearance); and a witty, (or a witting, or a knowing) man is known by meeting of face.

30 The clothing of (the) body, and the laughing of teeth, and the enter-ing [or the going in] of a man, tell out of him.