מַעֲנֶה־רַּךְ יָשִׁיב חֵמָה וּדְבַר־עֶצֶב יַעֲלֶה אָף

A gentle and courteous response assuages the fury of one who is angry. During a quarrel or a sensitive situation that is liable to deteriorate into a fight, a calm response can quell someone’s growing rage. And a tiresome word provokes wrath. A harsh or insulting retort will only increase the tension. One should therefore accustom oneself to speaking in a gentle manner.

לְשׁוֹן חֲכָמִים תֵּיטִיב דָּעַת וּפִי כְסִילִים יַבִּיעַ אִוֶּלֶת

The tongue of the wise improves knowledge, and the mouth of fools habitually expresses folly. Even if a fool learns something, whatever comes out of his mouth will be foolish.

בְּכָל־מָקוֹם עֵינֵי ה'צֹפוֹת רָעִים וְטוֹבִים

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, gazing at the wicked and the good. One must keep in mind that God is always watching both evil people and good people, and there is no escape from His sight.

מַרְפֵּא לָשׁוֹן עֵץ חַיִּים וְסֶלֶף בָּהּ שֶׁבֶר בְּרוּחַ

Another aphorism on the topic of speech: A soft-spoken, healing tongue, or alternatively, the healing of the spirit by means of the tongue, is a tree of life, producing life, health, happiness, and welfare; and distortion with it, the tongue, is an injury to the spirit, a source of despondency, bitter disappointment, and pain.

אֱוִיל יִנְאַץ מוּסַר אָבִיו וְשֹׁמֵר תּוֹכַחַת יַעְרִם

More on the subject of the foolish and the wise, and the righteous and the wicked: A fool scorns and rejects his father’s admonishment, and he who heeds the rebuke he receives will become clever and discerning.

בֵּית צַדִּיק חֹסֶן רָב וּבִתְבוּאַת רָשָׁע נֶעְכָּרֶת

The house of the righteous is a great storehouse, as anything the righteous individual stores in his house will last for a long time; and in the produce of the wicked there is spoilage.

שִׂפְתֵי חֲכָמִים יְזָרוּ דָעַת וְלֵב כְּסִילִים לֹא־כֵן

The lips of the wise will disperse knowledge, but not so the heart of fools. The fool does not distribute or acquire knowledge; indeed, he does not even pay any attention to it. Alternatively, this phrase means: The heart of the foolish is not right or properly directed.

זֶבַח רְשָׁעִים תּוֹעֲבַת ה'ותְפִלַּת יְשָׁרִים רְצוֹנוֹ

The offering of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord; even when a wicked person brings a sacrifice, God despises it. And the prayer of the upright, even without any sacrifice, is His gratification, and God responds with blessing.

תּוֹעֲבַת ה'דֶּרֶךְ רָשָׁע ומְרַדֵּף צְדָקָה יֶאֱהָב

The way of the wicked, his general conduct, actions, and dealings, is an abomination to the Lord, and He loves a pursuer of righteousness [tzedaka]. In the Bible, the term tzedaka, which later came to mean charity, includes not only giving to the poor and the pursuit of justice, but the observance of the Torah and the performance of good deeds as well.

מוּסָר רָע לְעֹזֵב אֹרַח שׂוֹנֵא תוֹכַחַת יָמוּת

There is harsh admonition for he who forsakes the proper path. He who hates rebuke will die in his wickedness; even suffering will not move him, because he refuses to accept any guidance or instruction.

שְׁאוֹל ואֲבַדּוֹן נֶגֶד ה'אַף כִּי לִבּוֹת בְּנֵי־אָדָם

Even the grave and oblivion, which seemingly are bereft of substance and are of no interest or value, are before the Lord; all the more so the hearts of the living sons of man, within whom a lofty soul resides, are revealed before God.

לֹא־יֶאֱהַב לֵץ הוֹכֵחַ לוֹ אֶל־חֲכָמִים לֹא יֵלֵךְ

A scoffer, a flighty, arrogant person, does not love his own rebuking; therefore, to the wise he will not go, as he assumes they will tell him things he does not wish to hear.

לֵב שָׂמֵחַ יֵיטִב פָּנִים וּבְ עַצְּבַת לֵב רוּחַ נְכֵאָה

A joyous heart cheers the face, and with heartache is a spirit dejected; at a time of misery, it is evident to outside observers that one’s spirit is broken. Feelings of both happiness and sadness are reflected in a person’s appearance.

לֵב נָבוֹן יְבַקֶּשׁ דָּעַת וּפִי כְסִילִים יִרְעֶה אִוֶּלֶת

The discerning heart seeks knowledge, and the mouth of fools befriends folly. The mouth of a foolish person constantly speaks nonsense.

כָּל־יְמֵי עָנִי רָעִים וְטוֹב־לֵב מִשְׁתֶּה תָמִיד

All the days of the poor are wretched. Even situations that are not particularly difficult can be very damaging to a poor person. If something is broken, he might not be able to have it fixed immediately; if he is ill, be might not have the funds to receive proper medical attention. Consequently, his problems only worsen. But the goodhearted has a perpetual feast. He is happy with his lot and can celebrate at all times.

טוֹב־מְעַט בְּיִרְאַת ה'מֵאוֹצָר רָב וּמְהוּמָה בוֹ

Nevertheless, despite the difficulties the poor must face, better is little, a small amount of property, that is acquired with fear of the Lord, than great treasure and with it, confusion, or quarrels.

טוֹב אֲרֻחַת יָרָק וְאַהֲבָה־שָּׁם מִשּׁוֹר אָבוּס וְשִׂנְאָה־בוֹ

This verse expresses a similar idea to the previous one: A simple and inexpensive meal of greens and love there is better, more pleasant, than the meat of a fattened ox and yet there is hatred with it.

אִישׁ חֵמָה יְגָרֶה מָדוֹן וְאֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם יַשְׁקִיט רִיב

A furious man, one who is constantly angry, arouses strife, and he who is slow to anger quiets quarreling.

דֶּרֶךְ עָצֵל כִּמְשֻׂכַת חָדֶק ואֹרַח יְשָׁרִים סְלֻלָה

The way of the idler is like a hedge of thorns, which blocks the path and forces passersby to either turn away or struggle through the thicket while they are pricked by the thorns. But the path of the upright is paved; it is comfortable for walking and contains no stumbling blocks.

בֵּן חָכָם יְשַׂמַּח־אָב וּכְסִיל אָדָם בּוֹזֶה אִמּוֹ

On wisdom and foolishness: A wise son gladdens a father, and a foolish man, through his deeds, scorns his mother. Even after he has matured, his foolishness still disgraces his mother.

אִוֶּלֶת שִׂמְחָה לַחֲסַר־לֵב וְאִישׁ תְּבוּנָה יְיַשֶּׁר־לָכֶת

Folly is a cause of joy to he who is lacking of heart, as such a person enjoys foolish matters; and a man of sagacity will walk forthrightly, since he involves himself with matters of reason. Alternatively, the verse means that joy is foolishness to one who lacks understanding, but is beneficial to a discerning person in straightening his path.

הָפֵר מַחֲשָׁבוֹת בְּאֵין סוֹד וּבְרֹב יוֹעֲצִים תָּקוּם

Plans are impeded without counsel. Plans will not come to fruition if they are not formed through shared discussion and general consultations. And with an abundance of advisors they, the plans, will endure.

שִׂמְחָה לָאִישׁ בְּמַעֲנֵה־פִיו וְדָבָר בְּעִתּוֹ מַה־טּוֹב

There is joy for a man in the reply of his mouth; when one answers correctly and accurately, it pleases him. And how good is a word at its proper time.

אֹרַח חַיִּים לְמַעְלָה לְמַשְׂכִּיל לְמַעַן סוּר מִשְּׁאוֹל מָטָּה

On morality, humility, and righteousness: The path of life goes upward for the sensible; the way of life of the discerning individual is directed upward, to sacred matters, so that he may turn away from the grave beneath. If a person does not want to fall all the way down to the netherworld below, he must attempt to advance and climb higher.

בֵּית גֵּאִים יִסַּח ה'וְיַצֵּב גְּבוּל אַלְמָנָה

The Lord will uproot the house of the arrogant and aggressive; and He will set firmly the border of the widow. God will guard the territory of the weak widow from cruel, arrogant individuals.

תּוֹעֲבַת ה'מַחְשְׁבוֹת רָע וּטְהֹרִים אִמְרֵי־נֹעַם

Thoughts of an evil person are an abomination to the Lord, and sayings of pleasantness and kindness are pure; they are considered beautiful and desirable to God.

עֹכֵר בֵּיתוֹ בּוֹצֵעַ בָּצַע וְשׂוֹנֵא מַתָּנֹת יִחְיֶה

A seeker of ill-gotten gain, who lives for monetary gain, is one who abuses, destroys, his own house. The continuous attempt to earn more money by any means, both honest and dishonest, will eventually bring harm upon a person and his family. And a hater of gifts will live. Even if the gifts are not given in the form of bribes, they disrupt the proper order of things, and therefore it is appropriate to avoid accepting them as much as possible.

לֵב צַדִּיק יֶהְגֶּה לַעֲנוֹת וּפִי רְשָׁעִים יַבִּיעַ רָעוֹת

The heart of the righteous will carefully consider his reply in answering. Alternatively, he speaks about refreshing matters in a pleasant manner, or talks with humility and modesty. And the mouth of the wicked will express evil, as wicked people are always occupied with such matters.

רָחוֹק ה' מֵרְשָׁעִים וּתְפִלַּת צַדִּיקִים יִשְׁמָע

The Lord is far from the wicked, and He hears the prayer of the righteous. The same idea is expressed somewhat differently in the book of Psalms: The Lord is close to all who call Him, to all who call Him in truth.

מְאוֹר־עֵינַיִם יְשַׂמַּח־לֵב שְׁמוּעָה טוֹבָה תְּדַשֶּׁן עָצֶם

Brightness of the eyes, a pleasant countenance, gladdens the heart. Alternative interpretations: Seeing a precious item brings joy to the heart; one who is able to perceive the good in the world will thereby cause his heart to rejoice. And good news fortifies bones.

אֹזֶן השֹׁמַעַת תּוֹכַחַת חַיִּים בְּקֶרֶב חֲכָמִים תָּלִין

An ear that heeds life’s rebuke, words of rebuke that are meaningful for life, even if the person himself is not wise and discerning, such an ear will abide among the wise, because when one listens to the criticism of the wise he learns from them and becomes similar to them.

פּוֹרֵעַ מוּסָר מוֹאֵס נַפְשׁוֹ וְשׁוֹמֵעַ תּוֹכַחַת קוֹנֶה לֵּב

He who avoids admonition and oversteps the boundaries of proper behavior in effect despises his soul, and he who heeds rebuke acquires a heart; he wins over the hearts of others.

יִרְאַת ה'מוּסַר חָכְמָה וְלִפְנֵי כָבוֹד עֲנָוָה

The essence of the fear of the Lord is the admonishment of wisdom, meaning modes of conduct gleaned from wisdom. And before honor comes humility, as humility is more important than honor and must be practiced before true honor can be attained. One who acts with humility will likely receive honor as well.