12
1 If thou do good, know to whom thou doest it;
And thy good deeds shall have thanks.
2 Do good to a godly man, and thou shalt find a recompense;
And if not from him, yet from the Most High.
3 There shall no good come to him that continueth to do evil,
Nor to him that giveth no alms.
4 Give to the godly man,
And help not the sinner.
5 Do good to one that is lowly,
And give not to an ungodly man:
Keep back his bread, and give it not to him,
Lest he overmaster thee thereby:
For thou shalt receive twice as much evil
For all the good thou shalt have done unto him.
6 For the Most High also hateth sinners,
And will repay vengeance unto the ungodly. *
7 Give to the good man,
And help not the sinner.
8 A man’s friend will not be † fully tried in prosperity;
And his enemy will not be hidden in adversity.
9 In a man’s prosperity his enemies are grieved;
And in his adversity even his friend will be separated from him.
10 Never trust thine enemy:
For like as the brass rusteth, so is his wickedness.
11 Though he humble himself, and go crouching,
Yet take good heed, and beware of him,
And thou shalt be unto him as one that hath wiped a mirror,
And thou shalt know that ‡ he hath not utterly rusted it.
12 Set him not by thee,
Lest he overthrow thee and stand in thy place;
Let him not sit on thy right hand,
Lest he seek to take thy seat,
And at the last thou acknowledge my words,
And be pricked with my sayings.
13 Who will pity a charmer that is bitten with a serpent,
Or any that come nigh wild beasts?
14 Even so who will pity him that goeth to a sinner,
And is mingled with him in his sins?
15 For a while he will abide with thee,
And if thou give way, he will not hold out.
16 And the enemy will speak sweetly with his lips,
And in his heart take counsel how to overthrow thee into a pit:
The enemy will weep with his eyes,
And if he find opportunity, he will not be satiated with blood.
17 If adversity meet thee, thou shalt find him there before thee;
And as though he would help thee, he will trip up thy heel.
18 He will shake his head, and clap his hands,
And whisper much, and change his countenance.
* 12:6 The remainder of this verse is omitted by the best authorities. † 12:8 Or, punished ‡ 12:11 Or, it hath not utterly rusted him