Those Who Are Worthy of Praise

25 I take pleasure in three things,

and they are beautiful in the sight of God and of mortals:a

agreement among brothers and sisters, friendship among neighbors,

and a wife and a husband who live in harmony.

2 I hate three kinds of people,

and I loathe their manner of life:

a pauper who boasts, a rich person who lies,

and an old fool who commits adultery.

3 If you gathered nothing in your youth,

how can you find anything in your old age?

4 How attractive is sound judgment in the gray-haired,

and for the aged to possess good counsel!

5 How attractive is wisdom in the aged,

and understanding and counsel in the venerable!

6 Rich experience is the crown of the aged,

and their boast is the fear of the Lord.

7 I can think of nine whom I would call blessed,

and a tenth my tongue proclaims:

a man who can rejoice in his children;

a man who lives to see the downfall of his foes.

8 Happy the man who lives with a sensible wife,

and the one who does not plow with ox and ass together.b

Happy is the one who does not sin with the tongue,

and the one who has not served an inferior.

9 Happy is the one who finds a friend,c

and the one who speaks to attentive listeners.

10 How great is the one who finds wisdom!

But none is superior to the one who fears the Lord.

11 Fear of the Lord surpasses everything;

to whom can we compare the one who has it?d