Ngeche 20
1 Divai en jajaro to kongʼo en koko; ngʼat motelne kodgi onge rieko.
Drinking a lot of wine or [other] strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.
2 Mirimb ruoth chalo gi ruto mar sibuor; ngʼat momiyo obedo gi gero lalo ngimane.
Being afraid of a king when he is angry is like [SIM] being afraid of a lion when it growls/roars; if you cause the king to become angry, he may execute you.
3 Enobed luor maduongʼ ne ngʼatno ma dagi dhawo, to joma ofuwo duto ohero dhawo.
[People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
4 Jasamuoyo ok pur puothe e kinde mowinjore; omiyo e kinde mar keyo omanyo, to ok oyud gimoro.
[If] a lazy man does not plow [his fields at the right/proper time], he will look for [crops] at harvest [time], but there will be nothing there.
5 Dwaro mar chuny dhano chalo gi pi matut, to ngʼat man-gi winjo twomogi.
[Just] as it is difficult to bring up water from a deep well, it is difficult to know what people are thinking, but someone who has good sense/insight will be able to find out what people are thinking.
6 Ji mangʼeny wacho ni gin gihera ma adiera; to ngʼat ma ja-adiera, en ngʼa ma diyude?
Many people proclaim that they can be trusted [to do what they say that they will do], but it is very difficult to find [RHQ] someone who can really be trusted.
7 Ngʼat makare nigi ngima ma ok ocha; nyithinde nigi gweth bangʼe.
If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).
8 Ka ruoth obedo e kome mondo ongʼad bura; opiedho weche maricho duto gi wangʼe.
A king who sits on his throne to judge people can [easily] [MTY] find out what things that people have done are good and what things are evil.
9 En ngʼa manyalo wacho niya, “Aserito chunya maler; aler kendo aonge richo?”
There is no one [RHQ] who can truthfully say, “I do not know of any wrong things that I have done; I have (gotten rid of all my sinful behavior/quit doing what is sinful).”
10 Rapim ma ok nikare gi pimo ma ok kare, Jehova Nyasaye mon kodgi duto.
Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
11 Kata mana nyathi ingʼeyo gi timbene, omiyo ingʼeyo ka kite obidhore kata ni kare.
Even children show by what they do whether they are good or not; they show whether (what they do/their behavior) is honest and right [or not].
12 It mawinjo gi wangʼ maneno, Jehova Nyasaye ema osechweyo gik moko ariyogo.
Two of the things that Yahweh has created [for us] are ears to hear things and eyes to see things.
13 Kik iher nindo nono to ibiro bedo jachan, bed kineno to ok ibi chando chiemo.
If you want to sleep [all the time], you will become poor; if you stay awake [and work], you will have plenty of food.
14 Jangʼiewo wacho niya, “Ok ber ngangʼ, ok ber ngangʼ!” To bangʼe owuok odhiyo ka osungore ni ongʼiewo gi nengo mayot.
People [look at things that they are about] to buy, [and in order to get it for a lower price sometimes they] say, “(It is no good/It is poor quality),” but [after they buy it], they go and boast [about having bought it for a cheap price].
15 Dhahabu nitie, kendo kite ma nengogi tek bende nitie mogundho, to dhok mawacho weche mag ngʼeyo gin kaka mula mabeyo mayudo tek.
Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
16 Kaw law ngʼat mochungʼne ngʼat mokia kaka singo; mak gino mosingorego, ka otimo kamano ni dhako majabayo.
If you foolishly promise to a stranger that you will pay what he owes if he is unable to pay it [DOU], [you deserve to] have someone take your coat from you.
17 Chiemo moyud e yo ma ok kare mit ne ngʼato, to achien omuodore mana ka kuoyo.
People [may] think that food that they acquire by doing what is dishonest will taste very good, but later [they will not enjoy what they have done any more than they would enjoy] eating gravel/sand.
18 Los chenro ka ikonyori gi ngʼado rieko; ka ichako lweny to dwar ikruok maber.
When people give you good advice, [if you do what they suggest], your plans will succeed; so be sure to get good advice from wise people before you start fighting a war.
19 Fuongʼo wach ketho genruok; omiyo tangʼ ni ngʼato ma wuoyo mathoth.
Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].
20 Ka ngʼato okwongʼo wuon mare kata min mare, to ngimane norum mana ka taya motho e mudho molil.
If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.
21 Mwandu moyud motelo e yo mayot ok bi bedo konyruok e kinde machien.
If you very quickly take the property that your parents promise will be yours after they die, you will not receive any good/blessing from it.
22 Kik iwach niya, “Abiro chulo kuor kuom rachni motimna!” Bed kirito Jehova Nyasaye to obiro resi.
Do not say, “I will do evil to those who do evil to me;” wait for Yahweh [to do something about it], and he will (help you/[do what is right]).
23 Jehova Nyasaye mon gi rapim mag miriambo, kendo rapim ma ok kare ok miye mor.
Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.
24 Okange mag ngʼato ichiko gi Jehova Nyasaye. Ere kaka ngʼato nyalo ngʼeyo yore owuon?
Yahweh is the one who has decided what will happen to us, so (how can we (understand/know) what will happen before it happens?/we humans certainly cannot (understand/know) what will happen before it happens.) [RHQ]
25 En obadho ne ngʼato masingo gimoro ka ok oparo, to achien eka oparo singruokne.
You should think carefully before you solemnly promise to dedicate something to God, because later you might be sorry you have promised to do it.
26 Ruoth mariek riembo joma timbegi richo; okumogi ma ok okechogi.
Wise kings find out [MET] which people have done what is wrong, and they punish them very severely [IDM].
27 Taya mar Jehova Nyasaye manyo chuny dhano, kendo omanyo chunye ma iye.
Our consciences are [like] lamps that Yahweh [has given to us to enable us to know what we are thinking] [MET]; they reveal what is hidden deep in our (minds/inner beings).
28 Hera kod adiera miyo ruoth bedo gi kwe, nikech hera, lochne bedo motegno.
Kings will continue to rule as long as they faithfully love their people and are loyal to them and as long as they rule righteously/fairly.
29 Sunga ma yawuowi nigo e teko margi, to lwar en duongʼ ne jodongo.
We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.
30 Goch kod adhonde pwodho richo, to chwat loso maler chuny maiye.
When we are beaten or whipped, it [can] cause us to quit doing what is evil in our lives; when someone wounds us [by punishing us], it [can] cause our behavior to become good.
