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37:1  Every friend will say, “I too have been a friend,” but there’s a friend who is one in name only.
37:2  Doesn’t the pain bring a person close to death when a companion and friend turns into an enemy?
37:3  Evil inclination, how did you get involved in covering the land with deceit?
37:4  Some companions take delight in a friend’s happiness, but they turn against them in a time of distress.
37:5  Some companions work alongside a friend for their stomach’s sake, but in the heat of battle, they will shield themselves.
37:6  Don’t forget friends in your heart, and don’t neglect them when it comes to your money.
37:7  Every counselor spews out advice, but some give advice for their own benefit.
37:8  Guard yourself against counselors, and know beforehand where their interest lies, since they too, will give advice for their own benefit and might cast the lot against you.
37:9  They might say to you, “Your way is good,” but they will stand aside to see what will happen to you.
37:10  Don’t consult with people who view you with suspicion; hide your plans from those who are jealous of you.
37:11  Don’t consult with a woman about her rival, or with the cowardly about war; or with a merchant about business, or with a buyer about a sale; or with a slanderer about gratitude, or with the unmerciful about kindness; or with the idle about anything involving work, or with an annual laborer about finishing a job; or with a lazy household slave about a large task. Don’t look to these persons for any advice.
37:12  Consult instead with a godly person whom you know keeps the commandments, who thinks the same way you do and will empathize with you if you fail.
37:13  Listen carefully to what your own heart tells you, since nothing is more faithful to you than it.
37:14  At times a person’s intuition keeps them informed better than seven sentries sitting high up on a lookout.
37:15  But above everything else, pray to the Most High, so that he may make your path straight in truth.
37:16  Speech is the beginning of every deed, and planning comes before every action.
37:17  The key to change is the heart;
37:18  it poses four possibilities: good and evil, life and death, and their continual master is the tongue.
37:19  Some people instruct many, but they are useless to themselves.
37:20  Some skilled speakers are hated; they will be deprived of any luxuries.
37:21  The Lord hasn’t granted them any refinement, because they are deprived of any wisdom.
37:22  Some people are wise to their own benefit, and the fruits of their understanding are evident to all.
37:23  The wise will instruct their own people, and the fruits of their understanding are trustworthy.
37:24  Wise people will be highly praised, and everyone who sees them will consider them to be favored.
37:25  A person’s life is a limited time, but Israel’s days cannot be numbered.
37:26  Those who are wise among their people will inherit honor, and their names will live forever.
37:27  My child, test yourself during your life. See what’s bad for you, and don’t give in to it.
37:28  All things aren’t beneficial to everybody, and all things aren’t pleasing to every person.
37:29  Don’t be greedy for every delicacy, and don’t be unrestrained with food.
37:30  Eating a lot of food will make one sick, and gluttony will lead to nausea.
37:31  Many have died because of gluttony, but those who are on guard against it will prolong life.