9 1 aBe not jealous of the wife bof thy bosomb,

cLest she learnc dmaliced against thee.

2 eGive note thyself unto a woman,

fSo as to let her trample down thy manhoodf.

3 gMeet notg ha strange womanh,

Lest thou fall into her netsi.

4 jWith a female singerj khave no conversek,

Lest thou be taken in her snares.

5 On a maiden fix not thy gaze,

lLest thou be entrapped in penalties with herl.

HA 6 Give not thyself unto the harlot,

mLest thou losem nthine inheritancen.

G(S) 7 opLook not round about theep qin the streets of a cityq,

rAnd wander not about in the broad places thereofr.

HA 8 s tHide thine eyet from a lovely woman,

u And gaze notu upon beauty which is not thine;

vBy the comelinessv of a woman many whave been ruinedw,

xAnd this wayx ypassiony flameth zlike firez.

9 s aWith a married womana bsit not at tableb,

cAnd [mingle not] wine in her companyc;

Lest thou incline dthine heartd towards her,

eAnd in thy bloode f[descendest]f to the Pit.

(f) 9:10–16. Precepts regarding friends and others

(= 2 + 2 + 3 + 3 distichs).

10 Forsake not ffanff old friend,

For the new g[is not his equivalent]g.

New wine is a new friend;

hBut when old—then thou mayst drink ith!

11 Envy not ithe ungodly mani,

For thou knowest not what jhis destiny shall bej.

12 kTake no pleasurek lin the arrogant man that prosperethl,

Remember that mhe shall not escape unpunishedm ntill deathn.

13 Keep far from the man that hath power to kill,

oAnd so thou needest have no terroro pof death’s terrorsp.

qBut whenq thou comest nigh (him) rcommit no faultr,

Lest he take away sthy lifes.

Know that thou marchest amid snares,

And walkest tupon netst.

14 As far as thou canst uassociate withu thy neighbour,

And converse with the wise.

15 v wWithw xthe intelligentx let ythy communingy be,

And all thy converse zin the Law of the Most Highz.

HA 16 Let men of rectitude be athe companions of thy boarda;

And in the fear of God be thy boast.

(g) 9:17–10:5. The value of God-fearing wisdom as exemplified in rulers

(= 2 + 3 + 2 distichs).

17 bBy the cunning-handedb ca shapely work is devisedc,

dEven sod one who ruleth over his people (must be) ewise in discernmente.

18 A man (full) of tongue is dangerous fin the cityf,

gAnd he that is ∙hasty in speechg is detested.