Immerse: Poets Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 254
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IMMERSE
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POETS
27:3-18
A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.
Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood,
but jealousy is even more dangerous.
An open rebuke
is better than hidden love!
Wounds from a sincere friend
are better than many kisses from an enemy.
A person who is full refuses honey,
but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.
A person who strays from home
is like a bird that strays from its nest.
The heartfelt counsel of a friend
is as sweet as perfume and incense.
Never abandon a friend—
either yours or your father’s.
When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for
assistance.
It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.
Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad.
Then I will be able to answer my critics.
A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt.
Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.
A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning
will be taken as a curse!
A quarrelsome wife is as annoying
as constant dripping on a rainy day.
Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind
or trying to hold something with greased hands.
As iron sharpens iron,
so a friend sharpens a friend.
As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit,
so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.
