Do not boast thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowst not what today may bring forth.

Do not vaunt yourself with tomorrow's day, for you know not what [evil this] day may bring.

Let another man praise thee, and not thy own mouth; a stranger, and not thy own lips.

Let another praise you, and not your [own] mouth; a stranger, and not your [own] lips.

A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than both of them.

The weight of stone and the mass of sand — the anger of a fool [i.e., the L-rd's anger against the world caused by the fool] is greater than both.

Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before envy?

Anger is cruel and wrath torrential, but who can withstand the rancor [of the L-rd]?

Open rebuke is better than hidden love.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are profuse.

Faithful are the wounds of a lover, but cloying are the kisses of a foe.

The full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

The sated soul will tread down a honeycomb, but to the hungry soul all bitter is sweet.

As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his place.

As a bird wandering from its nest is a man wandering from his place [i.e., a Torah scholar who does not review his learning].

Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so does the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.

[The fragrances of] oil [(balsamum)] and incense rejoice the heart, and the sweet [discourse] of one's friend [avails him] more than his own counsel.

Do not forsake thy own friend, and thy father’s friend; nor go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

Do not forsake your Friend and the Friend of your father, and do not come [(for aid)] to the house of your brother [Esav and Yishmael] on the day of your misfortune. Better that there dwell [in your midst] the Near One [(He who is near to those who are near to Him)] than a distant brother [i.e., the brother who distanced himself from you (viz. Genesis 27:41)].

My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him who taunts me.

Grow wise, my son, and rejoice my heart, and I will answer my shamer in kind.

A prudent man sees the evil, and hides himself; but simpletons pass on, and are punished.

The wise man sees the [oncoming] evil and hides [from it (i.e., he desists from sinning)], and the fools pass on [i.e., continue in their evil ways] [and] are punished.

Take his garment when he is surety for a stranger, and take his pledge on behalf of an alien woman.

Take [(without compunction)] the garment of him who goes security for a stranger, and take his security for an alien woman.

He that blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

[If] one blesses his friend [(for his generosity)] in a loud voice early in the morning, it may become a curse to him [(i.e., he may be beleaguered for his bounty)].

A continual dripping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

A harrowing drip on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

Whoever would hide her hides the wind, like the ointment of his right hand, which betrays itself.

He who would guard her [(from her harlotry)] might [(just as well)] guard the wind; and he will call [leprosy to come upon him (so that he can divorce her) just as a leper is cleansed by] the oil [placed upon] his right [thumb].

Iron sharpens iron; so one man sharpens another.

As iron sharpens iron, so does one man [(a Torah scholar)] sharpen his friend [(in halachah)].

He who guards the fig tree shall eat its fruit: so he who waits on his master shall be honoured.

He who guards the fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his master will be honored.

As in water face answers to face, so the heart of man to man.

As [with] water: the face [that you "show" it] is the face [it shows you]; so the heart of a man [i.e., the love he shows his friend] is the [(heart of the)] man [that he gets in return].

She᾽ol and Avaddon are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Sheol and Gehinnom are not sated [(with receiving the wicked)] just as a 'wicked' man's eyes are not sated [(with straying after his evil inclination and filling his lust)].

The refining pot is for silver, arid the furnace for gold; and a man is tried according to his praise.

The refining pot for [assaying and refining] silver, and the crucible for gold, and a man [is assessed] by his praise [(i.e., by praise of his good deeds by his fellow men)].

Though thou shouldst grind a fool in a mortar among crushed grain with a pestle, yet will his foolishness not depart from him.

If you crush the fool in a mortar, among the crushed grain, with a pestle, you will not remove his foolishness from him.

Be diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

Know [the needs of] your sheep; give heart to your flocks.

For riches are not forever: and does the crown endure to all generations?

For wealth [i.e., gold and silver] does not last forever; nor is it a crown [that is passed on] from one generation to another [(therefore, pay heed, too, to your lesser possessions.)]

When the grass sprouts forth, and the young grass appears, and the herbs on the mountains are gathered in;

[When, in the days of Nissan,] the grass appears and the verdure is seen and the mountain grass is gathered [for the flocks],

lambs shall provide thy clothing, and goats the price of a field:

[then is the time to shear] the lambs for your clothing; and [let] the he-goats [be as] the worth of a field [to you (for you can eat the flesh and sell the hides)].

and thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens.

And [for your] sufficiency — for your bread and the bread of your household and (for) the livelihood of your maidens — [let] the milk of your goats [suffice].