A good man will obtain Heb. יפיק. He will draw satisfaction from the Holy One, blessed be He, to bring goodness to the world.

but a man of evil devices will condemn One who has evil devices will condemn. He will condemn the people to bring evil [upon them], and so he states (Ecc. 9:18): “but one sinner destroys much good.”

A man will not be established with wickedness Heb. יכון, will not be firmly established.

is like rot A worm that penetrates the bones and grinds them. So is an embarrassing, bad wife, whose deeds are shameful.

The words of the wicked are to lurk for blood They take counsel to murder directly or through false testimony.

but the mouth of the upright when they hear [the wicked’s] counsel, will save the victims, for they will reveal [the wicked’s] plot, or if they are witnesses, [the upright] will prove them to be collusive.

The wicked will be overthrown Heb. הפוך, like להפוך, to overthrow. Like a sudden overthrow they are overthrown [lit. like an overthrow in a second].

and they are no more They are destroyed, e.g. Sodom.

but the house of the righteous will stand Will endure.

According to his intelligence a man is praised Whether he possesses little or much intelligence, he will receive his reward according to his intelligence.

but he whose heart has turned away He who moved his heart completely away from the Torah will be despised.

Heb. נעוה, as in (Isa. 21:3): “I have become confused (נעויתי) from hearing,” and similarly (I Sam. 20:30): “the son of a straying (נעות) woman deserving of punishment.” And it is possible to say that נעוה means one whose heart has strayed, from the expression נע ונד, moving and wandering, and as one says זעוה, horror, from the root זע, stirred.

Better is he who is lightly esteemed in his own eyes and became a slave to himself

that one who is honored in his own eyes and says, “It is disgraceful for me to toil at labor, for I am one of the great men,”—he will ultimately lack bread.

A righteous man has regard for the desire of his beast What his beasts and his household members need.

He who tills his soil will be sated with bread To be understood according to its apparent meaning, but according to its allegorical meaning, [this means] he who constantly reviews his studies lest they be forgotten.

The wicked man yearns to gain sustenance and maintenance from the prey of the wicked, who prey on people with robbery and violence.

but the root of the righteous yields what it is fit to yield, and that is the fruit.

Because of the transgression of the lips Because of the transgression of the lips of the generation of the Flood, who said (Job 21:15): “What is the Almighty that we should serve Him?” an evil snare came upon them, and Noah, the righteous man, came out of the trouble.

From the fruit of a man’s mouth From the reward of the mouth of those who engage in the Torah, they eat the good of this world, and the principal remains intact for them for the world to come.

A fool’s anger is known within the day On the day he is angry, on that very day he lets his anger be known, for he starts a quarrel and berates his fellow in public, and his anger has no restraint. But the clever man conceals the shame and does not hasten to quarrel. And the Midrash Aggadah states: On the day the first man was created, his sin was known, but the Holy One, blessed be He, Who is clever, did not wish to destroy His creatures. He concealed his shame and postponed His decree from Adam’s day to His day, which is one thousand years.

He who speaks the truth will testify justly He who speaks the truth will testify just testimony at a trial to justify the innocent.

There is one who speaks Heb. בוטה, speaks, as in (Lev. 5:4): “to pronounce (לבטה) with the lips.”

like the jabs of a sword For he stirs up the people and causes them to kill.

but the tongue of the wise which brings peace between one man and his fellow.

brings healing to that speech.

A true tongue will be established forever It will be established and will endure.

just for a moment In a fleeting moment, it perishes and leaves, for falsehood has no feet.

There is deceit in the heart of those who plot evil and since they are occupied with their thoughts of deceit, they have no joy—but for the counselors of peace, there is joy.

No wrong shall be caused for the righteous It will not happen. No sin will chance before him inadvertently.

A cunning man conceals knowledge Even in his wisdom, he is discreet—he surely conceals words of foolishness; but the heart of the fool announces foolishness aloud.

The hand of the diligent The upright.

will rule Will make wealthy.

If there is concern in a man’s heart, let him cast it down Let him divert his attention from it.

and a good word will make it cheerful Let him engage in the Torah which will cause the concern in his heart to rejoice and save him therefrom. And according to the one who says, “he should tell it to others,” this is [the meaning of] the end of the verse: And a good word with which his friend consoles him will cause the concern to rejoice.

The righteous is more generous than his neighbor Heb. יתר. The righteous renounces his measures and passes over them. יתר large in French. That is freigebig in German, generous.

the wicked who is accustomed to harming will lead them astray.

He will not roast This is connected to the above verse; that is to say that the way of the wicked will mislead him, and he will not roast the prey of his deceit.

He will not roast; he will not succeed with his deceit. As he [Solomon] spoke with a figure of prey, an expression of roasting is appropriate, for the successful hunter hunts the birds and roasts them in fire.

but the wealth of an honest man is precious Heb. יקר חרוץ. This is an inverted verse. But the wealth of a man who is honest is precious.

honest Heb. חרוץ, one who deals honestly, as in (10:4): “and the hand of those who make true decisions (חרוצים) will make [them] rich.”

In the road of charity is life, and [on] the way of its path of charity.

there is no death He will not die.