2. I am stupid. I am not as smart as other people are.
3. I have not learned to be wise. I know nothing about the Holy One.
4. Who has ever gone up to heaven and come back down? Who gathered the winds in his hand? Who can gather up all the water in his lap? Who set the limits for the world? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Do you know?
5. You can trust this: Every word that God speaks is true. God is a safe place for those who go to him.
6. So don’t try to change what God says. If you do, he will punish you and prove that you are a liar.
7. God, I ask you to do two things for me before I die.
8. Don’t let me tell lies. And don’t make me too rich or too poor—give me only enough food for each day.
9. If I have too much, I might deny that I need you, Lord. But if I am too poor, I might steal and bring shame to the name of my God.
10. Never say bad things about a slave to his master. If you do, he will curse you, and you will suffer for it.
11. Some people curse their fathers and refuse to bless their mothers.
12. Some people think they are pure, but they have done nothing to remove the filth of their sin.
13. Some people are so proud of themselves, and they look down on everyone else.
14. There are people whose teeth are like swords and their jaws like knives. They take everything they can from the poor.
15. Greedy people know only two things: “Give me,” and “Give me.” There are three other things that are never satisfied—really, four things that never have enough:
16. the place of death, a woman with no children, dry ground that needs rain, and a fire that will never stop by itself.
17. People who make fun of their father or refuse to obey their mother should have their eyes plucked out by wild birds and be eaten by vultures.