19
1 Conducting our lives as we should even though we are poor
is better than being foolish and telling lies.
2 Being enthusiastic but not thinking carefully about what we are about to do is not good;
doing things hastily can cause us a lot of trouble [IDM].
3 Some people are ruined as a result of their own foolish actions,
and when that happens, they [SYN] angrily say that it is Yahweh’s fault.
4 Those who are rich easily find people who want to be their friends,
but when people become poor, their friends often desert them.
5 Those who tell lies in court will surely be punished [LIT];
they will not escape it.
6 Many people try to persuade important people to do favors for them;
everyone wants to be a friend of those who give gifts.
7 Even the relatives of someone who becomes poor hate him,
and his friends certainly stay away from him, too;
even if he tries to talk with them, they will not be his friends again.
8 Those who become wise [IDM] are doing a favor for themselves;
those who get good sense will prosper.
9 Those who tell lies in court will certainly be punished [LIT];
they will be ruined.
10 It is not appropriate for foolish people to live ◄luxuriously/like rich people►,
and it is even less appropriate for slaves to rule important officials.
11 Those who have good sense do not quickly become angry;
people respect those who ignore offensive things that people say to them.
12 When a king is angry, that causes people to be afraid of him, like the roar of a lion causes people to be afraid [SIM],
but if he acts kindly toward people, they like it just like they like dew on the grass in the morning.
13 Foolish children can cause disasters to happen to their parents.
A wife who constantly ◄nags/quarrels with► her husband is as annoying as water that continually drips [MET].
14 We can inherit a house or money from our parents when they die,
but only Yahweh can give someone a sensible wife.
15 Those who are lazy sleep soundly,
but if they are lazy, they will be hungry because of not earning money to buy food.
16 Those who obey God’s commandments will remain alive for a long time;
those who despise/disobey them (OR, those who do not control their own conduct) will die while they are still young.
17 When we give things to poor people, it is as though we are lending to Yahweh,
and he will ◄pay us back/reward us for what we did►.
18 Discipline your children while they are young, while you still hope that they will learn to behave as they should;
if you do not discipline them, you are helping them to destroy themselves.
19 Those who ◄do not control their temper/quickly become very angry► will have to endure what happens as a result;
but if we rescue them from those troubles once, we will have to continue rescuing them.
20 Pay attention when people give you good advice and learn from them,
in order that you will become wise for the rest of your life.
21 People plan to do many kinds of things,
but what will happen is what Yahweh has decided will happen.
22 People want others to be loyal to them;
it is better to be poor than to tell a lie to a judge in court in order to get money.
23 Those who have an awesome respect for Yahweh will live a long life;
they rest peacefully and are not harmed during the night.
24 Some people are extremely lazy;
they put their hand in a dish to take some food but do not even lift the food up to their mouths.
25 If you punish someone who makes fun of those who are wise, those who ◄are naive/need to be instructed► will learn to do what is smart;
if you rebuke those who are wise, they will listen to what you say and become wiser.
26 Anyone who mistreats/abuses his father or forces his mother to leave the home
is a child who is acting shamefully and disgracefully.
27 My son, if you stop learning things,
you will soon forget what you already know.
28 Worthless witnesses in court make fun of judges who try to make fair decisions,
and wicked people enjoy doing evil like they enjoy eating good food [MET].
29 God is ready to punish those who make fun of him/religion;
those who do foolish things deserve to be flogged/whipped.