Ordsprogene 17
1 Bedre en tør Bid Brød med fred end Huset fuldt af Sul 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 Klog Træl bliver Herre over dårlig Søn og får lod og del mellem 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 Digel til Sølv og Ovn til Guld, men den, der prøver Hjerter, 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 hører på onde Læber, Løgneren lytter til giftige Tunger.
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 Fattigmand spotter, håner hans Skaber, den skadefro slipper ikke for Straf.
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 De gamles Krone er Børnebørn, Sønners Stolthed er Fædre.
Old [people] are [usually] proud of [MET] their grandchildren, [just like] children are [usually] proud of their parents.
7 Ypperlig Tale er ej for en Dåre, end mindre da Løgnfor den, som er ædel.
Fine/Eloquent speech is not suitable for foolish people to say, just like lies are not suitable for rulers [to say].
8 Som en Troldsten er Gave i Giverens Øjne; hvorhen den end vender sig, gør den sin Virkning.
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 Den, der dølger en Synd, søger Venskab, men den, der ripper op i en Sag, skiller Venner.
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 Bedre virker Skænd på forstandig end hundrede Slag på en Tåbe.
Rebuking people who have good sense will accomplish more for them than hitting them 100 times [with a stick].
11 Den onde har kun Genstridigbed for, men et skånselsløst Bud er udsendt imod ham.
[Because] wicked people are always trying to cause trouble, someone will be sent to severely punish them.
12 Man kan møde en Bjørn, hvis Unger er taget, men ikke en Tåbe udi hans Dårskab.
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 Den, der gengælder godt med ondt, fra hans Hus skal Vanheld ej 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 At yppe Strid er at åbne for Vand, hold derfor inde, før Strid bryder løs.
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 At frikende skyldig og dømme uskyldig, begge Dele er HERREN en Gru.
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 Hvad hjælper Penge i Tåbens Hånd til at købe ham Visdom, når Viddet mangler?
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 Ven viser Kærlighed når som helst, Broder fødes til Hjælp i Nød.
Friends love [others] all the time, and relatives are able to help us when we have troubles.
18 Mand uden Vid giver Håndslag og går i Borgen for Næsten.
[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 Ven af Kiv er Ven af Synd; at højne sin Dør er at attrå Fald.
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 Ej finder man Lykke, når Hjertet er vrangt, man falder i Våde, når Tungen er falsk.
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, der avler en Tåbe, får Sorg, Dårens Fader er ikke glad.
Children who are foolish [soon] cause their parents to be very sad; their parents will not be joyful at all.
22 Glad Hjerte er godt for Legemet, nedslået Sind suger Marv af 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 gudløse tager Gave i Løn for at bøje Rettens Gænge.
Wicked people/judges accept bribes that are given to them secretly, and as a result they do not decide matters justly/fairly.
24 Visdom står den forstandige for Øje, Tåbens Blik er 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 Tåbelig Søn er sin Faders Sorg, Kvide for hende, som fødte ham.
Children who are foolish cause their father to be sad and [also] cause their mother to be very sorrowful.
26 At straffe den, der har Ret, er ilde, værre endnu at slå de ædle.
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 har Kundskab tøjler sin Tale, Mand med Forstand er koldblodig.
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 Selv Dåren, der tier, gælder for viis, forstandig er den, der lukker sine Læber.
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.
