Again, by the divine power, I write the proverbs, to wit, the story of Ahikar, sage and secretary of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and Nineveh.

In the twentieth year of Sennacherib, son of Sarhadum, king of Assyria and Nineveh, I, Ahikar, was the king's secretary.

And it had been said to me when I was a boy, that no son will be born to thee: and the wealth that I had acquired was too vast to tell. Sixty wives had I wedded; and sixty castles did I build them: and I had no son. Thereupon I, Ahikar, built me a great altar, all of wood; and kindled fire upon it, and laid good meat thereon [as an offering for GOD's sake], and thus I spake:

'O Lord, my GOD; when I shall die and leave no son, what will men say of me? they will say that this, then, is Ahikar the just and good and GOD-serving: he is dead, and has left no son to bury him, no! nor a daughter: and his possessions, as if he were accursed, no man inherits. But I ask of thee, O GOD, that I may have a male child; so that when I shall die, he may cast dust on my eyes': and this voice was heard by me, "O Ahikar, wise scribe, all that thou hast asked of Me I have given thee; but as to My having left thee childless, let it suffice thee: perplex not thyself: but behold! Nadan thy sister's son: he shall be a son unto thee: so that with the growth of his stature thou shalt be able to teach him everything." And when I heard these things, I was grieved again, and said, 'Oh! Lord GOD! is it that thou wilt give me as a son Nadan my sister's son, so that when I die he may throw dust on my eyes?' And no further answer was returned to me. And I obeyed the command and took to me for a son, Nadan, my sister's son: and because he was yet young, I furnished him with eight wet-nurses: and I brought up my son on honey, and made him lie on choice carpets, and clothed him in fine linen and purple; and my son grew and shot up like a cedar, and when my son was grown big, I taught him book-lore and wisdom; and when the king came from the place to which he had gone, he called me and said to me, 'O Ahikar, the wise scribe and master of my thoughts, when thou shalt wax old and die, who is there to come after thee and to serve me like thyself?' And I answered and said to him, 'O my lord the king, live for ever! I have a son, wise like myself, and book-learned like myself, and educated.' And the king said to me, 'Bring him and let me see him. If he is able to stand before me, I will release thee in peace, and thou shalt spend thy old age in honour, until thou shalt end thy days.' Then I took my son Nadan and set him before the king, and when my lord the king saw him, he said, 'This day shall be a blessed day before GOD, so that like as Ahikar walked before my father Sarhadum, and before me also, he shall be rewarded: and I will set his son in my gate in his lifetime, and he shall depart his life in peace.' Thereupon I, Ahikar, bowed down before the king and said, 'My lord the king, live for ever! And like as I walked before thy father and before thyself even until now, so do thou also extend thy forbearance to the youthfulness of this my son, that thy grace which was toward me may be found multiplied towards him.' Then when the king heard this, he gave me his right hand, and I, Ahikar, bowed down before the king.

Nor did I cease from the instruction of my son, until I had filled him with instruction as with bread and water. And on this wise was I discoursing to him:

1 Hear, O my son Nadan, and come to the understanding of me, and be mindful of my words, as the words of GOD.

2 My son Nadan, if thou hast heard a word, let it die in thy heart, and reveal it to no man; lest it become a hot coal in thy mouth and burn thee, and thou lay a blemish on thy soul, and be angered against GOD.

3 My son, do not tell all that thou hearest, and do not disclose all that thou seest.

4 My son, do not loose a knot that is sealed, and do not seal one that is loosed.

5 My son, lift not up thy eyes and look upon a woman that is bedizened and painted; and do not covet her in thy heart; for if thou shouldest give her all that is in thy hands, thou findest no advantage in her; and thou wilt be guilty of sin against GOD.

6 My son, commit not adultery with the wife of thy neighbour; lest others should commit adultery with thy wife.

7 My son, be not in a hurry, like the almond tree whose blossom is the first to appear, but whose fruit is the last to be eaten; but be equal and sensible, like the mulberry tree whose blossom is the last to appear, but whose fruit is the first to be eaten.

8 My son, cast down thine eyes, and lower thy voice, and look from beneath thine eyelids; for if a house could be built by a high voice, the ass would build two houses in one day: and if by sheer force the plough was guided, its share would never be loosed from the shoulder of the camel.

9 My son, it is better to remove stones with a wise man than to drink wine with a fool.

10 My son, pour out thy wine [on the ground], rather than drink it with evil men.

11 My son, with a wise man thou wilt not be depraved, and with a depraved man thou wilt not become wise.

12 My son, associate with the wise man, and thou wilt become wise like him; and associate not with a garrulous and talkative man, lest thou be numbered with him.

13 My son, while thou hast shoes on thy feet, tread down the thorns and make a path for thy sons and for thy sons' sons.

14 My son, the rich man eats a snake, and they say, He ate it for medicine. And the poor man eats it, and they say, For his hunger he ate it.

15 My son, eat thy portion, and despise not thy neighbours.

16 My son, with a shameless man it is not fit even to eat.

17 My son, envy not the prosperity of thy enemy; and rejoice not at his adversity.

18 My son, draw not near to a woman that is a whisperer, nor to one that has a shrill voice.

19 My son, go not after the beauty of a woman: and lust not after her in thy heart: because the beauty of a woman is her good sense: and her adornment is the word of her mouth.

20 My son, if thine enemy meet thee with evil, meet thou him with wisdom.

21 My son, the wicked falleth and riseth not; but the just man is not moved, for GOD is with him.

22 My son, withhold not thy son from stripes; for the beating of a boy is like manure to the garden, and like rope to an ass or any other beast, and like tether on the foot of an ass.

23 My son, subdue thy son while he is yet a boy, before he wax stronger than thee and rebel against thee, and thou be shamed in all his corrupt doing.

24 My son, get thee an ox that is fat and lies down, and an ass that has good hoofs, but do not get thee a slave that is runaway nor a maid that is thievish: lest they destroy all that thou hast gotten.

25 My son, the words of a liar are like fat sparrows; and he that is void of understanding eateth them.

26 My son, bring not upon thee the curses of thy father and of thy mother, lest thou rejoice not in the blessings of thy children.

27 My son, walk not in the way unarmed; because thou knowest not when thy enemy shall come upon thee.

28 My son, even as a tree is fair in its branches and fruit, and a bosky mountain in its trees, so is a man fair in his wife and weans; and he that hath not brethren, nor wife nor weans, is despised and contemptible before his enemies; and he is like unto a tree by the roadside, from which every passer-by plucketh, and every beast of the weald teareth down its leafage.

29 My son, say not, 'My lord is a fool, and I am wise'; but take hold of him in his faults and thou shalt obtain mercy.

30 My son, count not thyself to be wise, when others count thee not to be wise.

31 My son, lie not in thy speech before thy lord, lest thou be convicted, and he shall say to thee, Away from my sight!

32 My son, let thy words be true, in order that thy lord may say to thee, 'Draw near me,' and thou shalt live.

33 My son, in the day of thy calamity revile not GOD; lest when He hear thee, He should be angered against thee.

34 My son, treat not thy slave better than his fellow; for thou knowest not which of them thou wilt have need of at the last.

35 My son, smite with stones the dog that has left his own master and followed after thee.

36 My son, the flock that makes many tracks becomes the portion of the wolves.

37 My son, judge upright judgment in thy youth, in order that in thy age thou mayest have honour.

38 My son, sweeten thy tongue and make savoury the opening of thy mouth; for the tail of a dog wins him bread, and his mouth gets him blows.

39 My son, suffer not thy neighbour to tread on thy foot, lest he tread on thy neck.

40 My son, smite the wise man with wise word, that it may be in his heart like a fever in summer; but know that if thou smite the fool with many blows, he will not understand.

41 My son, send a wise man and give him no orders; but if thou wilt send a fool, go rather thyself and send him not.

42 My son, test thy son with bread and water, and then thou canst leave in his hands thy possessions and thy wealth.

43 My son, withdraw at the first cup, and tarry not for lickerish draughts: lest there be to thee wounds in thy head.

44 My son, he whose hand is full is called wise and honourable; and he whose hand is scant is called foolish and abject.

45 My son, I have carried salt and removed lead; and I have not seen anything heavier than that a man should pay back a debt which he did not borrow.

46 My son, I have carried iron and removed stones; and they were not heavier on me than a man who settles in the house of his father-in-law.

47 My son, teach hunger and thirst to thy son, that according as his eye sees he may govern his house.

48 My son, better is he that is blind of eye than he that is blind of heart; for the blind of eye straightway learneth the road and walketh in it: but the blind of heart leaveth the right way and goeth into the desert.

49 My son, better is a friend that is at hand than a brother who is far away: and better is a good name than much beauty: because a good name standeth for aye: but beauty wanes and wastes away.

50 My son, death is better than life to a man that hath no rest: and better is the voice of wailing in the ears of a fool than music and joy.

51 My son, better is a drumstick in thy hand than a wing in the pot of other people; and better is a sheep that is at hand than a heifer that is far off; and better is poverty that gathers than wealth that scatters; and better one sparrow in thy hand than a thousand on the wing: and better is a woollen coat on thy back than fine linen and silks on the backs of others.

52 My son, restrain a word in thy heart, and it shall be well with thee; because when thou hast exchanged thy word, thou hast lost thy friend.

53 My son, let not a word go forth from thy mouth, until thou hast taken counsel within thy heart: because it is better for a man to stumble in his heart than to stumble with his tongue.

54 My son, if thou hear an evil matter, put it seven fathoms deep underground.

55 My son, tarry not where there is contention; for from strife arises murder.

56 My son, every one who doth not judge right judgment angers GOD.

57 My son, remove not from thy father's friend, lest perchance thy friend come not near to thee.

58 My son, go not down into princes' gardens, and draw not near to princes' daughters.

59 My son, aid thy friend before the ruler, that thou mayest find out how thou mayest help him from the lion.

60 My son, rejoice not over the enemy when he dieth.

61 My son, when thou seest a man who is stronger than thyself, rise up before him.

62 My son, if the waters should stand up without earth, and the sparrow fly without wings, and the raven became white as snow, and the bitter become sweet as honey, then may the fool become wise.

63 My son, if thou art a priest of GOD, be thou ware of Him and enter His presence in purity, and from His presence remove not.

64 My son, him that GOD prospers do thou also honour.

65 My son, strive not with a man in his day, and stand not against a river in its flood.

66 My son, the eye of man is like a fountain of water, and it is not satisfied with riches until filled with dust.

67 My son, if thy will is to be wise, refrain thy tongue from lying, and thy hand from theft, and thou shalt become wise.

68 My son, have no part in the espousal of a woman; for if it shall go ill with her, she will curse thee; and if it shall go well with her, she will not remember thee.

69 My son, he that is elegant in his dress is elegant also in his speech, and he that is contemptible in his dress is contemptible also in his speech.

70 My son, if thou shalt find a find before an idol, offer [for GOD's sake] its share of it.

71 My son, the hand that was satisfied and is now hungry will not give, nor the hand that was hungry and is now satisfied.

72 My son, let not thine eyes look upon a woman that is beautiful; and be not inquisitive into beauty that does not belong to thee: because many have perished through the beauty of woman, and her love has been as a fire that burneth.

73 My son, let the wise man strike thee with many blows, and let not the fool salve thee with sweet salve.

74 My son, let not thy foot run after thy friend, lest he be surfeited with thee and hate thee.

75 My son, put not a gold ring on thy finger, when thou hast not (wealth); lest fools make mock of thee.

This is the teaching which Ahikar taught to Nadan his sister's son.

But I, Ahikar, supposed that everything which I had been teaching Nadan, he took hold of in his heart, and that he stood in my stead in the king's gate; and I knew not that Nadan listened not to my words, but scattered them, as it were, to the wind; and returned and said that my father Ahikar is grown old, and stands at the door of his grave; and his intelligence has withdrawn and his understanding is diminished; and my son Nadan began (to ill-treat) my servants by beating them and slaughtering them and destroying them; and he showed no mercy on my servants and my handmaidens though they were industrious and well-beloved and excellent; and my horses he slew and my good mules he ham-strung. So when I beheld that my son Nadan was doing detestable things, I answered and said to him, My son Nadan, touch not my property; my son, it is said in the proverb, 'What the hand did not acquire, the eye did not spare.' Moreover I showed to Sennacherib my lord all these matters; and my lord spake on this wise, 'As long as Ahikar lives, no man shall have power over his wealth.' Then when my son Nadan saw his brother Nebuzardan standing in my house, he was very irate and he spake on this wise; 'My father Ahikar is grown old and his wits have waned; (and as for his wise words, he despised them); hath he given his possessions to Nebuzardan my brother, and hath he removed me from his house?'

When I Ahikar heard these things, I said, Alas for thee! my wisdom, that my son Nadan had made insipid; and as for my wise sayings, he has contemned them.

Now when my son Nadan heard thereof, he was angry and went to the gate of the king, and devised evil in his heart; and sat down and wrote two letters to two kings who were enemies of Sennacherib my lord; one to Akhi, the son of Hamselim, king of Persia and Elam, as follows: 'From Ahikar the Secretary and Great Seal of Sennacherib king of Assyria and Nineveh, greeting. When this letter reaches thee, arise and come to Assyria to meet me; and I will bring thee into Assyria, and thou shalt seize the kingdom without war.' And he wrote another letter, as follows: 'To Pharaoh, king of Egypt, from Ahikar, Secretary and Great Seal of the king of Assyria and Nineveh, greeting. When this letter shall reach thee, arise and come to meet me at Eagles' dale, which lieth to the south, on the 25th day of the month Ab. And I will bring thee into Nineveh without war and thou shalt seize the kingdom.' And he made these writings of his like to my own handwriting; and he sealed them in the king's palace, and went his way.

And he wrote further another letter to me, as if from my lord the king Sennacherib; and on this wise he wrote it:

'From Sennacherib the King, to Ahikar, my Secretary and Great Seal, greeting. When this letter reaches thee, gather all thy forces together, to the rock that is called Sis: and come forth from thence and come to meet me at Eagles' dale, which lieth to the south, on the 25th day of the month Ab. And when thou seest me approaching to thee, array thy forces against me, like a man that is ready for battle: for ambassadors of Pharaoh the king of Egypt are come to me; that they may see what forces I have.'

And my son Nadan sent this letter to me by the hands of two of the king's servants.

And thereupon my son Nadan took the letters that he had written, as if he had actually found them; and he read them before the king; and when my lord the king heard them, he lamented and said, 'O GOD, wherein have I sinned against Ahikar, that he should do unto me on this fashion?' And my son Nadan answered and said to the king, 'My lord, do not fret nor rage. Arise and let us go to Eagles' dale on the day that is written by him in the letter. And if it be true, then all that thou commandest shall be done.'

So my son Nadan took the king my lord, and they came to me at Eagles' dale; and they found me having with me great forces that were gathered there. And when I saw the king, I put my forces in array against him, as it was written in the letter. And when the king saw it, he was much afraid.

Then my son Nadan answered and said to him: 'Let it not disturb thee, my lord the king. Return and come into thy chamber in peace: and I will bring Ahikar before thee.'

Then my lord the king returned to his house.

And my son Nadan came to me and said to me, 'All that thou hast done, thou hast done finely: and much hath the king praised thee; and he commands thee to dismiss thy forces that they may go every man to his own place and his own district. And do thou come to me thyself alone.'

Thereupon I came before the king, and when he saw me, he said unto me, 'Art thou come, Ahikar, my Secretary and the foster-child of Assyria and Nineveh, thou whom I caused to come into honour? but thou hast turned back and taken the part of my enemies.' And he gave me those letters that were written in my name, and were sealed with the seal of my own ring. And when I read them, my tongue stammered and my limbs became faint: and I sought for a single word from the words of wisdom and I found me none. And my son Nadan answered and said to me, 'Away with thee from the king's sight, thou foolish old man: and give thy hands to bonds and thy feet to iron fetters.'

Then Sennacherib the king turned away his face from me, and he talked with Nabusemakh and said to him, 'Arise, go slay Ahikar, and separate his head a hundred ells from his body.'

Then I fell on my face on the ground and bowed [before] the king, and I said, 'My lord the king, live for ever. Seeing, my lord, that it hath pleased thee to kill me, thy will be done. I know, however, that I have not sinned against thee. But command them, my lord the king, that they kill me at the door of my house: and let them give my body to burial.'

And the king said to Nabusemakh, 'Go, kill Ahikar at the door of his house, and give his body to burial.' Thereupon I, Ahikar, sent to Eshfagni my wife that she should bring forth from the daughters of my tribe maids a thousand and one: and let them put on raiment of mourning, and let them wail and lament and weep over me. And let them come to meet me, and let them make a funeral feast over me before I die. And prepare thou bread and a table and a banquet for Nabusemakh and his Parthians that are with him, and come to meet them, and receive them and bring them into my house. And I too will come into the house as a guest.

And Eshfagni my wife, for that she was exceeding wise, understood all my message, and did whatsoever I had sent to her to do; and she came forth to meet them, and she brought them into my house: and they did eat bread, and with her own hand she served them, until they fell asleep from drunkenness, every man in his place.

Thereat I, Ahikar, entered and said to Nabusemakh, 'Look towards GOD, and remember the love that there was between us, brother: and grieve not over my death: and remember that thee also did Sarhadum the father of Sennacherib deliver to me that I should slay thee, yet I slew thee not, because I was aware that there was in thee no ground of offence; and I kept thee alive until the king desired thee, and when I brought thee before him, he gave me great gifts, and many presents did I carry off from him. And do thou too, now, preserve me alive and recompense me this kindness: and in order that the word come not abroad that I was not killed and that the king may not quarrel with thee, behold, I have in my prison-house a slave, Marzifan hight, and he is due to die: clothe this slave in my raiment and rouse up the Parthians against him and they will slay him: and I shall not die, because I have done no wrong.'

And when I spake thus, moreover Nabusemakh was also sore grieved over me, and he took my raiments and clad in them the slave that was in the prison-house. And he roused up the Parthians, and they arose in the fumes of their wine, and they slew him and removed his head a hundred ells from his corse, and they gave over his body for burial.

Then went forth the report in Assyria and Nineveh, that Ahikar the Secretary is killed. And Nabusemakh rose up, and Eshfagni my wife, and they made for me a hiding-place under ground; its breadth was three cubits and its height five cubits, under the threshold of the door of my house. And they put bread and water with me, and went and shewed to Sennacherib the king that Ahikar, the Secretary, was dead: and when the men heard it, they wept; and the women disfigured their faces and said: 'Alas for thee! Ahikar the wise Secretary, thou fence of the breaches of our country: for like thee there will never be any one to us.'

Then Sennacherib the king called my son Nadan, and said to him, 'Go make a funeral feast for thy father Ahikar, and then return to me.' And when Nadan my son came, no funeral feast did he make for me, nor any remembrance at all; but gathered him the vain and lewd folk, and set them down at my table, with singing and with great joy; and my beloved servants and handmaidens he stripped and flogged without mercy. Nor had he any reverence of my wife Eshfagni, but sought to do with her the way of man with woman. And I, Ahikar, was cast into darkness in the pit beneath. And I was hearing the voice of my bakers, cooks and butlers as they wept and sobbed within my house.

And after a few days came Nabusemakh and opened (my prison) over me and comforted me; and set before me bread and water; and I said to him, When thou goest forth from me, remember me before GOD, and say, O GOD, just and righteous, and that showest grace upon the earth, hear the voice of Thy servant Ahikar, and remember that he sacrificed to Thee fatted oxen like sucking lambs. And now he is cast into the darksome pit where he seeth no light. And dost Thou not save him that crieth unto Thee? O Lord, hear the voice of my colleague, (I pray Thee).

Now when Pharaoh, king of Egypt, heard that I, Ahikar, had been slain, he was greatly rejoiced, and he wrote a letter to Sennacherib on this wise:

'Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to Sennacherib, king of Assyria and Nineveh, greeting. I am planning to build a castle between heaven and earth, wherefore seek out and send me from thy kingdom a man who is a skilled architect, that he may give me reply concerning all that I shall ask him. And when thou shalt send me such a man, I will collect and send thee the revenue of Egypt for three years: and if thou send me not a man who shall give me reply concerning all that I ask him, then do thou collect and send me the tribute of Assyria and Nineveh for three years, by the hands of these ambassadors that come to thee.'

And when this letter was read before the king, he cried out to all the nobles and franklins of his kingdom, and said unto them: 'Which of you will go to Egypt to give reply to the king concerning all that he shall ask him? And he shall build him the castle that he planneth, and bring back the three years' tribute of Egypt and come hither.'