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6:1  Don’t become an enemy instead of a friend. If you get a bad name, you will also inherit shame and reproach, as is the case with the deceitful sinner.
6:2  Don’t be enamored of your own intelligence lest your strength be taken captive like a bull.
6:3  You will devour your leaves, destroy your fruit, and leave yourself like a withered tree.
6:4  If you have a bad soul, it will destroy you; it will make you a joke to your enemies.
6:5  Pleasant speech gains more friends for itself, and a sweet-speaking tongue will multiply pleasant exchanges.
6:6  Let those who are at peace with you be many, but let only one in a thousand be your advisor.
6:7  If you make friends, test them thoroughly and don’t trust them quickly.
6:8  Some are friends when it is convenient, but they won’t stay around during hard times.
6:9  There are friends who turn into enemies, and they will reveal your disgraceful arguments.
6:10  There are friends who are companions at your table, but they won’t stay during hard times.
6:11  They will act as if your belongings are theirs, and they will be bold toward your household slaves.
6:12  If you are brought low, they will be against you, and they will abandon you.
6:13  Stay away from your enemies, and be careful with your friends.
6:14  Trustworthy friends are a strong shelter; whoever finds one has found a treasure.
6:15  Trustworthy friends have no price, and no one can estimate their worth.
6:16  Trustworthy friends are life’s medicine, and those who fear the Lord will find them.
6:17  Those who fear the Lord will direct their friendships well, because they will associate with people of like mind.
6:18  My child, from your youth welcome education, and you will continue to discover Wisdom until you are gray-haired.
6:19  Approach her like one who plows and one who sows, and wait for her good fruits. When cultivating her, you will labor a little, but you will eat her produce soon.
6:20  Wisdom is rugged terrain to the uneducated, and the fainthearted won’t persevere with her.
6:21  She will be like a heavy stone that tests them, and they won’t hesitate to throw her aside.
6:22  Wisdom is like her name, and she won’t be visible to many.
6:23  Listen, my child, and welcome my opinion. Don’t reject my advice.
6:24  Put your feet into her shackles and your neck into her collar.
6:25  Bend your shoulder down and carry her, and don’t chafe at her bonds.
6:26  Come to her with your whole being, and keep to her ways with all your strength.
6:27  Track her down and seek her, and she will become known to you. When you get possession of her, don’t let her go.
6:28  In the end, you will find rest in her, and she will turn to you and make you happy.
6:29  Her shackles will be a strong shelter for you, and her collar will be a glorious robe.
6:30  She bears a gold ornament, and her bonds will be like blue embroidery.
6:31  You will wear her like a glorious robe, and you will put her on like a crown of joy.
6:32  If you want, my child, you will be instructed, and if you devote your whole being, you will be intelligent.
6:33  If you love to listen, you will receive, and if you pay attention, you will be wise.
6:34  Keep company with the elders, and stick closely to their wisdom.
6:35  Desire to listen to every godly conversation, and don’t let intelligent proverbs escape you.
6:36  If you find individuals who are intelligent, get up before dawn to see those people, and let your foot wear out their doorsteps.
6:37  Think about the Lord’s decrees, and meditate constantly on his commandments. He will make your heart steadfast, and will grant your desire for wisdom.