17
1 It is better to eat a dry piece of bread and not have strife/quarrels
than to have a big feast in a house where everyone is quarreling.
2 A slave who acts wisely will some day be the boss of his master’s disgraceful son
and when his master dies, the slave will receive part of his master’s possessions.
3 Workers put silver and gold in a very hot furnace to burn out what is impure,
and Yahweh similarly examines people’s inner beings to see if they are pure.
4 Those who do what is evil pay attention to people who say [MTY] what is evil,
and liars pay attention to other people’s lies.
5 Those who make fun of poor people insult God, the one who made the poor people,
and those who are happy when someone else has troubles will certainly be punished [LIT] by God.
6 Old people are usually proud of [MET] their grandchildren,
just like children are usually proud of their parents.
7 Fine/Eloquent speech is not suitable for foolish people to say,
just like lies are not suitable for rulers to say.
8 People think that a bribe is like a magic stone to persuade someone to do what they want him to do;
they think that because of the bribe, that person will do whatever they want him to do.
9 If you want people to like/love you, forgive them for the wrong things that they do to you.
If you continue to remind them about those wrong things, they will no longer be your friends.
10 Rebuking people who have good sense will accomplish more for them
than hitting them 100 times with a stick.
11 Because wicked people are always trying to cause trouble,
someone will be sent to severely punish them.
12 A mother bear whose cubs have been taken away from her is dangerous,
but it is more dangerous to confront a foolish person who is doing something foolish.
13 If someone does something evil in return for something good being done to him,
evil/trouble will never leave that person’s family.
14 Starting a quarrel is like allowing water to start to leak out of a dam;
they both need to be stopped before they get worse.
15 There are two things that Yahweh hates:
◄Condemning innocent people/Saying that people who have done nothing wrong must be punished►,
and declaring that people who have done wicked things should not be punished.
16 It is useless to allow foolish people [RHQ] to try to become wise by paying for it,
because they do not have enough good sense to become wise.
17 Friends love others all the time,
and relatives are able to help us when we have troubles.
18 If someone borrows money from another person, it is foolish for you to promise [IDM] that you will pay the money back
if that other person is unable to pay back the money that he borrowed.
19 Those who like to sin also like to cause strife/trouble;
and those who build fancy doors in their houses to show that they are very wealthy (OR, speak proudly) are inviting disaster.
20 Those who ◄have perverse minds/are always thinking about doing evil things► will not prosper,
and disasters will happen to those who always tell lies.
21 Children who are foolish soon cause their parents to be very sad;
their parents will not be joyful at all.
22 Being cheerful is like swallowing good medicine;
being discouraged/gloomy all the time will ◄drain away your energy/cause you to become weak► [MTY].
23 Wicked people/judges accept bribes that are given to them secretly,
and as a result they do not decide matters justly/fairly.
24 Those who have good sense determine to do what is wise,
but foolish people are always thinking about many different things and never decide what they should do.
25 Children who are foolish cause their father to be sad
and also cause their mother to be very sorrowful.
26 It is not right to force someone who has done nothing wrong to pay a fine;
it is wrong to punish good/respected people.
27 Those who have good sense do not talk a lot,
and those who ◄control their tempers/keep themselves from becoming very angry► are truly wise.
28 People may think that foolish people who do not say anything are wise;
if foolish people ◄do not say anything/keep their mouths shut►, others will think that they are very intelligent.