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² Do not praise individuals for their good looks,
   or loathe anyone because of appearance alone.
³ The bee is small among flying creatures,
   but what it produces is the best of sweet things.
⁴ Do not boast about wearing fine clothes,
   and do not exalt yourself when you are honoured;
for the works of the Lord are wonderful,
   and his works are concealed from humankind.
⁵ Many kings have had to sit on the ground,
   but one who was never thought of has worn a crown.
⁶ Many rulers have been utterly disgraced,
   and the honoured have been handed over to others.

Deliberation and Caution

⁷ Do not find fault before you investigate;
   examine first, and then criticize.
⁸ Do not answer before you listen,
   and do not interrupt when another is speaking.
⁹ Do not argue about a matter that does not concern you,
   and do not sit with sinners when they judge a case.

¹⁰ My child, do not busy yourself with many matters;
   if you multiply activities, you will not be held blameless.
If you pursue, you will not overtake,
   and by fleeing you will not escape.
¹¹ There are those who work and struggle and hurry,
   but are so much the more in want.
¹² There are others who are slow and need help,
   who lack strength and abound in poverty;
but the eyes of the Lord look kindly upon them;
   he lifts them out of their lowly condition
¹³ and raises up their heads
   to the amazement of many.

¹⁴ Good things and bad, life and death,
   poverty and wealth, come from the Lord.^*
17 The Lord’s gift remains with the devout,
   and his favour brings lasting success.
¹⁸ One becomes rich through diligence and self-denial,
   and the reward allotted to him is this:
¹⁹ when he says, ‘I have found rest,
   and now I shall feast on my goods!’
he does not know how long it will be
   until he leaves them to others and dies.

²⁰ Stand by your agreement and attend to it,
   and grow old in your work.