14
1 Wise women [PRS] hold their families together by the wise things that they do,
but foolish women ruin their families by the foolish things that they do.
2 By continually behaving/acting righteously, people show that they greatly revere Yahweh;
those who ◄walk on crooked paths/always deceive others► show that they despise him.
3 Foolish people will be punished [MTY] for what they say,
but wise people will be protected by what they say [MTY].
4 If a man has no oxen to plow his field, he does not need to put grain in their feedbox,
but if he has oxen, they will enable him to produce an abundant crop.
5 Witnesses who are reliable always say what ◄is true/really happened►,
but witnesses who are not reliable constantly tell lies about what happened.
6 Those who make fun of being wise will never become wise,
but those who understand what is right learn things easily.
7 Stay away from foolish people,
because they will not be able to teach you anything useful.
8 Those who have good sense are wise, so they know what they should do and what they should not do;
foolish people do not know what is right to do, but because they think that they do, they are deceiving themselves.
9 Foolish people make fun of their committing sins;
but God is pleased with those who do what is right.
10 If you are very sad or if you are joyful, only you know what you are experiencing;
no one else can know what you are feeling.
11 Houses built by wicked people will be destroyed,
but houses built by good/righteous people will last for a long time.
12 There are some kinds of behavior [MET] that some people falsely think are right,
but ◄walking on those roads/continually doing those things► causes those people to die.
13 Sometimes when people laugh, they are really sad,
and when they stop laughing, they are still sad.
14 Those who stubbornly continue to do what is wrong will get what they deserve,
and those who continually do what is good will also get what they deserve.
15 Foolish people believe everything that people tell them;
those who have good sense think carefully about what will be the result of their actions.
16 Wise people are careful and avoid doing things that will give them trouble;
foolish people are careless and act ◄too quickly/without thinking►.
17 Those who quickly become angry [IDM] do foolish things;
people hate those who plan to do wicked things (OR, those who have good sense remain calm/patient).
18 Foolish people get what they deserve for doing foolish things;
those with good sense are rewarded [MET] by being able to learn a lot.
19 Some day evil people will bow down in front of righteous people to show that they respect them;
they will humbly stand at the gates of the houses of righteous people and request their help.
20 No one likes poor people; even their friends/neighbors do not like them;
rich people have many friends, but only while the rich people still have money.
21 It is sinful to despise your poor neighbors;
God is pleased with those who do kind things for the poor.
22 Those who plan to do things that are evil/wrong are walking on the wrong road;
people faithfully love, respect and are loyal to those who plan to do what is good.
23 If you work hard, you will ◄accomplish something good/get a good income►,
but if all you do is to talk and not work, you will remain poor.
24 One of the rewards [MET] of being wise is to become rich;
the reward of acting foolishly is to become more foolish.
25 By saying in court what is true, you can save the life of the one who is being falsely accused;
if you tell lies, you are abandoning someone who needs your help to defend him.
26 Those who revere Yahweh are confident that he will protect them,
and their family will also be protected.
27 Having an awesome respect for Yahweh is like [MET] having a fountain that gives life;
it will help you to escape when something dangerous is threatening to kill you [MET].
28 If a king rules over many people, many people will be able to honor him;
if he has only a few people in his kingdom, he will have very little [HYP] power.
29 Those who do not quickly become angry are very wise;
by quickly becoming angry, people show that they are foolish.
30 Having a mind that is peaceful results in having a healthy body;
having a mind that is often in turmoil is like [MET] cancer in a person’s bones.
31 Those who oppress poor people are insulting God, the one who made those poor people,
but acting kindly toward them is respecting God.
32 Wicked people ruin themselves by the evil things that they do,
but righteous/good people are kept safe/protected even when they die (OR, because of their continually doing what is right).
33 Those who have good sense always think what is wise;
foolish people do not know anything about being wise.
34 When the people of a nation continually act righteously, it causes that nation to be great;
continually doing what is evil causes a nation to be disgraced.
35 Kings are pleased with officials who do their work competently/skillfully,
but they punish [MTY] those who do their work in a manner that causes the kings to be disgraced.