1. O governor of Egypt, do not oppress
For many like you have come and gone

2. The date palms have outlived their owners
Others were appointed in their stead and departed

3. Words are distorted by liars
But judgments remain straight

4. So do not send out ropes of hope
And grasp their ends in your hand

5. Be humble if fortune exalts you
For that increases honor

6. Treat your neighbor well in your abode
And do not make it unbearable for him

7. If God clothes you in the garb of wellness
Do not prefer luxury over it

8. Waters ebb though long frequented
By one who comes to draw from them

9. He whom the strokes of death beset
Fears senility or loss of wit

10. He commits major sins
And is heedless of his accumulated sins

11. I have a place in the earth not to be visited
Though sought by a visitor, it would not be found

12. My tears flowed until they froze
My eyelids did not freeze until they flowed