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30:1  A man who loves his son chastises him often so that in his old age the son may be his joy.
30:2  The man who disciplines his son will reap the benefits and boast of him to his acquaintances.
30:3  The man who educates his son will make his enemy envious and will show his delight in him among his friends.
30:4  When the father dies, it will be as though he were not dead, for he has left behind him a duplicate of himself,
30:5  whom he looked upon with joy during his life, and about whom he felt no anxiety on his deathbed.
30:6  He has left behind him someone to exact vengeance from his enemies and to repay his friends for their acts of kindness.
30:7  A man who coddles his son will bandage his wounds and suffer heartbreak at every cry he unleashes.
30:8  An unbroken colt turns out stubborn, and an unchecked son grows up headstrong.
30:9  Pamper your son, and he will terrorize you; indulge him, and he will cause you grief.
30:10  Do not share in his laughter or you will share also in his sorrow, and in the end you will gnash your teeth.
30:11  When he is young, do not give him any freedom, and do not close your eyes to his errors.
30:12  Bend his neck in his youth, and chastise him soundly while he is still a child, or he may become stubborn and disobedient, and you will experience deep sorrow.
30:13  Discipline your son and take pains with him, so that you may not have reason to be humiliated by some disgraceful act of his.
30:14  You are better off to be poor and healthy and fit than to be rich and tormented in one’s body.
30:15  Health and fitness are better than gold, and a strong body is better than countless riches.
30:16  There is no treasure to compare with health of body and no happiness to surpass a joyful heart.
30:17  Death is better than a life of misery, and eternal rest is preferable to chronic illness.
30:18  Gourmet foods set before one who cannot eat are like delicacies placed on a grave.
30:19  Of what use is a sacrifice to an idol that can neither taste nor smell? So it is with the man afflicted by the Lord;
30:20  he gazes and groans, as a eunuch groans when embracing a maiden. [So it is with the one who does right under obligation.]
30:21  Do not abandon yourself to sorrow, or torment yourself by brooding.
30:22  A joyful heart is a source of life, and a cheerful disposition lengthens one’s life span.
30:23  Indulge yourself and take comfort, and banish sorrow far from your heart. For grief has brought about the death of many, and no advantage has ever been gained as a result of it.
30:24  Envy and anger shorten one’s life, and anxiety brings on premature old age.
30:25  The man who is lighthearted and merry while dining benefits from what he eats.