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29:1  He that shows mercy will lend to his neighbor, and he that strengthens him with his hand keeps the commandments.
29:2  Lend to your neighbor in the time of his need; and in turn, repay your neighbor promptly.
29:3  Confirm your word and keep faith with him, and on every occasion you will find what you need.
29:4  Many persons regard a loan as a windfall, and cause trouble to those who help them.
29:5  A man will kiss another’s hands until he gets a loan, and will lower his voice in speaking of his neighbor’s money; but at the time for repayment he will delay, and will pay in words of unconcern, and will find fault with the time.
29:6  If the lender exert pressure, he will hardly get back half, and will regard that as a windfall. If he does not, the borrower has robbed him of his money, and he has needlessly made him his enemy; he will repay him with curses and reproaches, and instead of glory will repay him with dishonor.
29:7  Because of such wickedness, therefore, many have refused to lend; they have been afraid of being defrauded needlessly.
29:8  Nevertheless, be patient with a man in humble circumstances, and do not make him wait for your alms.
29:9  Help a poor man for the commandment’s sake, and because of his need do not send him away empty.
29:10  Lose your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend, and do not let it rust under a stone and be lost.
29:11  Lay up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High, and it will profit you more than gold.
29:12  Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from all affliction;
29:13  more than a mighty shield and more than a heavy spear, it will fight on your behalf against your enemy.
29:14  A good man will be surety for his neighbor, but a man who has lost his sense of shame will fail him.
29:15  Do not forget all the kindness of your surety, for he has given his life for you.
29:16  A sinner will overthrow the prosperity of his surety,
29:17  and one who does not feel grateful will abandon his rescuer.
29:18  Being surety has ruined many men who were prosperous, and has shaken them like a wave of the sea; it has driven men of power into exile, and they have wandered among foreign nations.
29:19  The sinner who has fallen into suretyship and pursues gain will fall into lawsuits.
29:20  Assist your neighbor according to your ability, but take heed to yourself lest you fall.
29:21  The essentials for life are water and bread and clothing and a house to cover one’s nakedness.
29:22  Better is the life of a poor man under the shelter of his roof than sumptuous food in another man’s house.
29:23  Be content with little or much.
29:24  It is a miserable life to go from house to house, and where you are a stranger you may not open your mouth;
29:25  you will play the host and provide drink without being thanked, and besides this you will hear bitter words:
29:26  “Come here, stranger, prepare the table, and if you have anything at hand, let me have it to eat.”
29:27  “Give place, stranger, to an honored person; my brother has come to stay with me; I need my house.”
29:28  These things are hard to bear for a man who has feeling: scolding about lodging and the reproach of the moneylender.