فَلا تُكثِرَنَّ القَولَ في غَيرِ وَقتِهِ

وَأَدمِن عَلى الصَمتِ المُزيِّنِ لِلعَقلِ

Do not speak too much at the wrong time,

So do not speak excessively when the time is ill-suited,

And accustom yourself to graceful silence, which adorns the mind.

And persist in the silence that adorns the intellect.

يَموتُ الفَتى مِن عَثرَةٍ بِلسانِهِ

وَلَيسَ يَموتُ المَرءُ مِن عَثرَةِ الرِّجلِ

A young man dies from a slip of his tongue,

For a youth may die from a slip of his tongue,

But no man dies from a slip of the foot.

Yet a man does not perish from a stumble of the foot.

فَعثرَتُهُ مَن فيهِ تَرمي بِرَأسِهِ

وَعَثرَتهِ بِالرِّجلِ تَبَرا عَل مَهلِ

For the slip of the tongue throws him down headlong,

The stumble from his mouth casts down his head,

While the slip of the foot rights itself at leisure.

While the stumble of the foot heals over time.

وَلا تَكُ مِبثاثاً لِقَولِكَ مُفشياً

فَتَستَجلِبِ البَغضاءَ مِن زَلَّةَ النَعلِ

Do not spread gossip with your unrestrained talk,

Do not be one who broadcasts words and divulges secrets,

And bring hatred upon yourself by a slip of the sandal.

Lest you attract hatred through the slipping of a sandal.