5
1 Set not thy heart upon thy goods;
And say not, They are sufficient for me.
2 Follow not thine own mind and thy strength,
To walk in the desires of thy heart;
3 And say not, Who shall have dominion over me?
For the Lord will surely take vengeance on thee.
4 Say not, I sinned, and what happened unto me?
For the Lord is longsuffering. *
5 Concerning atonement, be not without fear,
To add sin upon sins:
6 And say not, His compassion is great;
He will be pacified for the multitude of my sins:
For mercy and wrath are with him,
And his indignation will rest upon sinners.
7 Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord;
And put not off from day to day:
For suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord come forth; †
And thou shalt perish in the time of vengeance.
8 Set not thine heart upon unrighteous gains:
For thou shalt profit nothing in the day of calamity.
9 Winnow not with every wind,
And walk not in every path:
Thus doeth the sinner that hath a double tongue.
10 Be stedfast in thy understanding;
And let thy word be one.
11 Be swift to hear; ‡
And with patience make thine answer.
12 If thou hast understanding, answer thy neighbour;
And if not, let thy hand be upon thy mouth.
13 Glory and dishonour is in talk:
And the tongue of a man is his fall.
14 Be not called a whisperer;
And lie not in wait with thy tongue:
For upon the thief there is shame,
And an evil condemnation upon him that hath a double tongue.
15 In a great matter and in a small, be not ignorant;
* 5:4 The remainder of this verse is omitted by the best authorities. † 5:7 A line of this verse is here omitted by the best authorities. ‡ 5:11 The remainder of this line is omitted by the best authorities.