16. Don’t be too virtuous, and don’t be too wise. Why make yourself miserable?
17. Don’t be too wicked, and don’t be a fool. Why should you die before your time is up?
18. It’s good to hold on to the one and not let go of the other, because the one who fears God will be able to avoid both extremes.
19. Wisdom will help a wise person more than ten rulers can help a city.
20. Certainly, there is no one so righteous on earth that he always does what is good and never sins.
21. Don’t take everything that people say to heart, or you may hear your own servant cursing you.
22. Your conscience knows that you have cursed others many times.
23. I used wisdom to test all of this. I said, “I want to be wise, but it is out of my reach.”
24. Whatever wisdom may be, it is out of reach. It is deep, very deep. Who can find out what it is?
25. I turned my attention to study, to explore, and to seek out wisdom and the reason for things. I learned that wickedness is stupid and foolishness is madness.