Ordsprogene 17
1 Bedre er en tør Bid og Ro derhos end et Hus fuldt af slagtet Kvæg med Trætte.
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 En klog Tjener skal herske over en Søn, som gør Skam, og han skal dele Arv midt iblandt Brødre.
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 Diglen er til Sølvet og Ovnen til Guldet; men den, som prøver Hjerterne, er Herren.
[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 Den onde agter paa uretfærdige Læber; Løgneren laaner Øre til den Tunge, der arbejder paa Fordærvelse.
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 Hvo som bespotter den fattige, forhaaner hans Skaber; hvo som glæder sig over Ulykke, skal ikke agtes uskyldig.
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 Børnebørn ere de gamles Krone, og Børnenes Pryd er deres Fædre.
Old [people] are [usually] proud of [MET] their grandchildren, [just like] children are [usually] proud of their parents.
7 Det staar ikke en Daare vel an at tale høje Ord, meget mindre en Fyrste at tale Løgn.
Fine/Eloquent speech is not suitable for foolish people to say, just like lies are not suitable for rulers [to say].
8 Skænk er en yndig Sten i deres Øjne, som modtage den; hvor som helst den vender sig hen, gør den Lykke.
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 Hvo som skjuler Overtrædelse, søger Kærlighed; men hvo som ripper op i en Sag, fjerner en fortrolig.
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 Skænd trænger dybere ind hos en forstandig end at slaa en Daare hundrede Gange.
Rebuking people who have good sense will accomplish more for them than hitting them 100 times [with a stick].
11 Den onde søger kun at vise Genstridighed, men et grusomt Bud skal sendes imod ham.
[Because] wicked people are always trying to cause trouble, someone will be sent to severely punish them.
12 Lad en Mand møde en Bjørn, som Ungerne ere fratagne, kun ikke en Daare i hans Taabelighed.
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 Hvo som gengiver godt med ondt, fra hans Hus skal det onde ikke vige.
If someone does something evil in return for something good being done to him, evil/trouble will never leave that person’s family.
14 Hvo som begynder Trætte, aabner for Vand; opgiv derfor Trætten, førend den vælter sig frem.
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 Den, som frikender den ugudelige, og den, som kender den retfærdige skyldig, ere begge Herren en Vederstyggelighed.
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 Hvortil skal dog Penge i Daarens Haand? er det for at købe Visdom, da han dog ikke har Forstand?
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 En Ven elsker altid, men en Broder fødes til Hjælp i Nød.
Friends love [others] all the time, and relatives are able to help us when we have troubles.
18 Et Menneske, som fattes Forstand, giver Haandslag og gaar i Borgen hos sin Næste.
[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 Hvo der elsker Trætte, elsker Overtrædelse; hvo som søger Undergang, gør sin Dør høj.
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 Den, som er vanartig i Hjertet, skal ikke finde godt; og den, som taler forvendt med sin Tunge, skal falde i Ulykke.
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 Den, som avler en Daare, ham bliver det til Bedrøvelse, og en Daares Fader skal ikke glæde sig.
Children who are foolish [soon] cause their parents to be very sad; their parents will not be joyful at all.
22 Et glad Hjerte er en god Lægedom; men et nedslaaet Mod udtørrer Benene.
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 Den ugudelige tager Gave i Smug for at bøje Rettens Stier.
Wicked people/judges accept bribes that are given to them secretly, and as a result they do not decide matters justly/fairly.
24 For den forstandiges Ansigt er Visdommen; men en Daares Øjne ere ved Jordens Ende.
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 En daarlig Søn er sin Fader en Harm og sin Moder en Bedrøvelse.
Children who are foolish cause their father to be sad and [also] cause their mother to be very sorrowful.
26 Det er end ikke godt at lægge Bøder paa den retfærdige eller at slaa ædle Mænd tvært imod Ret.
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 Den, som sparer sine Ord, besidder Kundskab, og en koldsindig Mand er forstandig.
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 Ogsaa en Daare, om han tav, kunde regnes for viis; den, som holder sine Læber til, er forstandig.
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.
