1Happy are those who do not blunder with their lips

and are not stricken with grief for sin.*

2Happy are those whose hearts do not condemn them

and who have not given up their hope.*

3Riches are inappropriate for the small-minded,

and of what use is wealth to misers?*

4What they deny themselves they collect for others,

and others will live in luxury on their goods.*

5If they are mean to themselves, to whom will they be generous?

They will not enjoy their own riches.

6No one is worse than those who are grudging to themselves;

this is the repayment for their meanness.

7If ever they do good, it is by mistake,g

and in the end they reveal their meanness.

8Misers are evil people;

they turn away and disregard people.*

9The eyes of the greedy are not satisfied with their share;

greedy injustice withers the soul.*

10Misers begrudge bread,

and it is lacking at their tables.*

11My child, treat yourself well, according to your means,

and present worthy offerings to the Lord.*

12Remember that death does not tarry,

and the decreeh of Hades has not been shown to you.

13Do good to friends before you die,

and reach out and give to them as much as you can.

14Do not deprive yourself of a day’s enjoyment;

do not let your share of desired good pass by you.*

15Will you not leave the fruit of your labors to another,

and what you acquired by toil to be divided by lot?*

16Give and take and indulge yourself,

because in Hades one cannot look for luxury.

17All living beings become old like a garment,

for the decreei from of old is, “You must die!”*

18Like abundant leaves on a spreading tree

that sheds some and puts forth others,

so are the generations of flesh and blood:

one dies, and another is born.*

19Every work decays and ceases to exist,

and the one who made it will pass away with it.

20Happy are those who meditate onj wisdom

and who reason intelligently,*

21who reflect in their hearts on her ways

and ponder her secrets,*

22pursuing her like a hunter

and lying in wait on her paths;

23who peer through her windows

and listen at her doors;*

24who camp near her house

and fasten their tent pegs to her walls;

25who pitch their tents near her

and so occupy an excellent lodging place;

26who place their children under her shelter

and lodge under her boughs;

27who are sheltered by her from the heat

and dwell in the midst of her glory.*