1. كُن في أُمورِك ساكِناً

    فَالمَرءُ يُدرِكُ في سُكونِهِ

    Be calm in your affairs,

    for a man succeeds through his calm.

  2. لا خَير في حشو الكَلا

    مِ اِذا قَدرت عَلى عُيونِهِ

    There is no good in padding speech

    if you can command its choicest words.

  3. الصَدق خَير لِلفَتى

    عِندي وَأَحسَن مِن يَمينِهِ

    Truthfulness is better for a young man,

    in my view, and finer than his oath.

  4. وَالصت خَير بِالفَتى

    مِن مَنطِق في غَير جبينهِ

    And silence is better for a young man

    than speech out of season [apparently intended; the text reads 'his forehead'].

  5. وَالمَرءُ لا يَخفى عَلَيكَ

    اِذا نَظَتَ اِلى قَرينِهِ

    And a man is no mystery to you

    if you look at his companion.

  6. وَعلى الفَتى بوقاره

    سمة تَلوح عَلى جَبيه

    And a young man, through his dignity, bears

    a mark that shines upon his brow.

  7. وَلرُبَّما اِختَصَّ الفَتى من

    لَيسَ في شَرف بِدونِهِ

    And often a young man singles out someone

    who is not beneath him in honor.

  8. كل اِمرىء في نِفسه

    أَعلى وَأَشرَف من خَدينه

    Every man, in his own estimation,

    is higher and nobler than his close friend.

  9. رب اِمرىء مُتَيَقِّن

    غَلب الشَقاء عَلى يَقينِه

    Many a man was certain,

    yet misery overcame his certainty,

  10. فَأَزالَهُ عَن رَأيِه

    فَاِبتاعَ دُنياهُ بِدينِهِ

    turning him away from his judgment,

    so he bought his worldly life at the price of his faith.