IV. My son, adefraud not the poor of his living,

And amake not the needy eyes to wait long.

2  Make not a hungry soul sorrowful;

Neither provoke a man in his distress.

3  aaAdd not more trouble to a heart that is vexed;

And bdefer not to give to him that is in need.

4  Reject not the supplication of the afflicted;

cNeither dturn away thy face from a poor man.

5  dTurn not away thine eye from * ethe needy,

And give him none occasion fto curse thee:

6  For gif he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul,

hHis prayer shall be heard of him that made him.

7  Get thyself the love of the congregation,

And bow thy head to a great man.

8  Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine ear to the poor,

And give him a friendly answer with meekness.

9  iDeliver him that suffereth wrong from the hand of the oppressor;

And jbe not fainthearted when thou sittest in judgment.

10  kBe as a father unto the fatherless,

And instead of a husband unto their mother:

So shalt thou be as lthe son of the most High,

And he shall love thee more than thy mother doth.

11  mWisdom exalteth nher children,

And layeth hold of them that seek her.

12  oHe that loveth her loveth life;

And pthey that seek to her early shall be filled with qjoy.

13  He that holdeth her fast rshall inherit glory;

And wheresoever she entereth, the Lord will bless.

14  They that serve her shall minister * to the Holy One:

And them that love her the Lord doth love.

15  Whoso giveth ear unto her sshall judge the nations:

And he that attendeth unto her shall dwell securely.

16  If a man commit himself unto her, he shall inherit her;

And his generations shall hold her in possession.

17  For at the first she will walk with him tby crooked ways,

And bring fear and dread upon him,

And torment him with her discipline,

Until she may trust his soul,

And try him by her laws.

18  Then will she return the straight way unto him,

And qcomfort him, and ushew him her secrets.

19  But if he go wrong, she will forsake him,

And give him over to his own ruin.

20  wObserve the opportunity, and beware of evil;

And xbe not ashamed when it concerneth thy soul.

21  For ythere is a shame that bringeth sin;

And zthere is a shame which is glory and grace.

22  aAccept no person against thy soul,

And let not the reverence of any man cause thee to fall.

23  And refrain not to speak, * when there is occasion to do good,

And hide not thy wisdom in her beauty.

24  For by speech wisdom shall be known:

And learning by the word of the tongue.

25  In no wise speak against the truth;

But be abashed of the error of thine ignorance.

26  bBe not ashamed to confess thy sins;

* And force not the course of the river.

27  Make not thyself an underling to a foolish man;

Neither aaccept the person of the mighty.

28  Strive for the truth unto death,

And the Lord shall fight for thee.

29  cBe not hasty in thy tongue,

And in thy deeds slack and remiss.

30  Be not as a lion in thy house,

dNor frantick among thy servants.

31  eLet not thine hand be stretched out to receive,

And shut when thou shouldest * repay.