箴言 17
1 乾餅一張而平安共食，勝於滿屋佳餚而互相爭吵。
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 聰明的僕人必能管治任性的兒子，且可與弟兄們共分產業。
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 鍋煉銀，爐煉金，上主煉人心。
[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 奸詐的人，愛聽胡言亂語；說謊的人，輕信是非長短。
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 嘲笑窮人的是凌辱他的造主；幸災樂禍的，必不能脫免懲罰。
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 孫兒是老人的冠冕，父親是兒女的光榮。
Old [people] are [usually] proud of [MET] their grandchildren, [just like] children are [usually] proud of their parents.
7 優雅的言詞，不適宜於愚人；虛偽的狂語，更不宜於君王。
Fine/Eloquent speech is not suitable for foolish people to say, just like lies are not suitable for rulers [to say].
8 賄賂在饋贈者眼中，有如寶石；不論他要轉向何方，無往不利。
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 掩飾他人的過錯，可獲得友愛；屢念舊日的過惡，則離間友誼。
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 對明智人一句指責，勝過對愚昧人百次杖擊。
Rebuking people who have good sense will accomplish more for them than hitting them 100 times [with a stick].
11 暴徒只求叛亂，但有殘酷使者，奉命前來對付。
[Because] wicked people are always trying to cause trouble, someone will be sent to severely punish them.
12 寧願遇見失掉幼子的母熊，不願逢著正在發狂的愚人。
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 誰以怨報德，災禍必不離開他的家。
If someone does something evil in return for something good being done to him, evil/trouble will never leave that person’s family.
14 爭論的開端，如水之破堤；在激辯之前，應極加制止。
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 宣判罪人無罪，判定義人有罪：二者同為上主所憎惡。
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 愚昧的人，既沒有頭腦，手執金錢買智慧，又何益之有﹖
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 朋友平時常相愛，唯在難中見兄弟。
Friends love [others] all the time, and relatives are able to help us when we have troubles.
18 常為人擊掌作保，實是個無知之徒。
[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 好爭辯的人，實喜愛罪過；高舉門戶的，必自趨滅亡。
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 誰存心欺詐，不會得幸福；誰搬弄是非，必陷於災禍。
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 生糊塗孩子的，只有悲哀；糊塗人的父親，毫無樂趣。
Children who are foolish [soon] cause their parents to be very sad; their parents will not be joyful at all.
22 愉快的心，是良好的治療；神志憂鬱，能使筋骨枯萎。
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 惡人在大衣下受賄賂，是為顛倒正義的判詞。
Wicked people/judges accept bribes that are given to them secretly, and as a result they do not decide matters justly/fairly.
24 精明的人，常面向智慧；愚者的眼，向地極呆望，
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 愚昧的兒子，是他父親的痛苦，是他生母的憂傷。
Children who are foolish cause their father to be sad and [also] cause their mother to be very sorrowful.
26 科罰無辜，已屬不當；杖責君子，更屬不義。
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 智者必沉默寡言，達人必心神鎮定。
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 愚人不發言，亦可充作智者；若謹口慎言，亦可視為哲人。
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.
