Ngeche 27
1 Kik isungri kuom kiny, nikech ok ingʼeyo gima odiechiengʼ nyalo kelo.
Do not boast about [what you will do] tomorrow, because you do not know what will happen [PRS] on any day.
2 We ngʼat moro ema opaki, to ok dhogi iwuon; ngʼato machielo, to ok lewi iwuon.
Do not praise yourself [MTY, PRS]; allow others to praise you. If someone else praises you, that is okay.
3 Kidi pek to kuoyo bende pek, to chandruok ma ngʼat mofuwo kelo pek moloyo gik moko ariyogo.
[It causes pain to our bodies to carry heavy] stones or [a pail full of] sand, but doing something stupid/foolish [can cause] great [pain to other people’s spirits.]
4 Mirima kwiny to gero pek moloyo, to en ngʼa manyalo chomore gi nyiego?
It is cruel to be angry [with others], and our being angry sometimes destroys [others], but being jealous of someone is [RHQ] often more cruel than that.
5 Kwero ngʼato ratiro ber moloyo hera mopandi.
It is better to correct someone openly than to show that you l don’t love that person [by not correcting him].
6 Adhonde moa kuom osiep inyalo geno, to jasigu medo mana nyoth mar masira.
If a friend criticizes you, [he is a good friend and] you can trust him; but if one of your enemies kisses you, he is [probably wanting to] deceive you.
7 Ngʼat moyiengʼ ok dwar mor kich, to ngʼatno modenyo kata mana gima kech mitne.
When someone’s stomach is full, he does not want to eat honey; but when someone is [very] hungry, he thinks that [even] bitter things taste sweet.
8 Mana kaka winyo mabayo moa e ode e kaka ngʼatno mabayo aa e dalane.
Anyone who wanders [far] from his home/family is like [SIM] a bird that is far from its nest.
9 Moo mangʼwe ngʼar gi ubani kelo mor ne chuny, to ber mar osiep ngʼato wuok kuom ngʼado rieko gi adiera.
[Putting olive] oil and perfume on a person’s skin causes him to feel good, but having a friend [who gives] good advice [is even better].
10 Kik ijwangʼ osiepni kod osiep wuonu, to kik idhi e od owadu ka chandruok omaki, ber dhi ir jabuti machiegni moloyo owadu man mabor.
Do not neglect your friends or your parents’ friends; and at a time when you are experiencing a disaster, do not go to a relative [who lives far away to request his help]; someone who lives near you can help you more than relatives who live far away.
11 Bed mariek, wuoda kendo imi chunya mor eka anyalo dwoko ngʼato moro amora machaya.
My child/son, cause me to be happy by becoming wise, in order that I will [know how to] reply to those who would criticize me [about your behavior].
12 Ngʼat mariek neno masira kabiro kendo opondo, to ngʼat mofuwo dhiyo adhiya nyime ma ohinyre.
Those who have good sense will realize that there is something dangerous ahead, and they will hide; those who do not have good sense [just] keep going, and later they will suffer because of [doing] that.
13 Kaw law ngʼatno mochungʼne ngʼat mokia kaka singo; kawe ka okete singo kar dhako mabayo.
[You deserve to] have your property taken from you if you [foolishly] promise to a stranger (OR, a strange woman) that you will pay what she owes if she is unable to pay it [DOU].
14 Ka ngʼato ogwedho jabute e lela gokinyi mangʼich, to ochalo mana gi ngʼama kwongʼe.
If you rise early in the morning and call out a greeting to your neighbor [while he is still sleeping], he will consider it to be a curse, [not a blessing].
15 Dhako ma jakoko chalo gi kodh ajiki,
[Having] a wife that is [constantly] nagging is as [bad as listening] to rain continually dripping on a rainy day.
16 kwerogo chalo gi gengʼo yamo kata mako moo gi lwedo.
[Trying] to restrain/stop her [from doing that] is as [difficult] [SIM] [as trying] to stop the wind or [trying] to hold oil in your hand.
17 Kaka nyinyo piago nyinyo, e kaka ngʼato piago nyawadgi.
[We can use one] iron tool to sharpen [another] iron [tool]; similarly [SIM], [when one person shares] what he is thinking, it can help other people [to think more clearly].
18 Ngʼat mopidho ngʼowu biro chamo olembe, to ngʼatno marito ruodhe ibiro miyo luor.
Those who take care of fig trees will have figs to eat; [similarly], servants who protect their master will be honored [by him].
19 Kirango pi, to wangʼi iwuon ema ineno, kendo kinono chunyi, to in iwuon ema inenori.
[When a person looks] in the water, he sees his own face; similarly [SIM], [when we look at] a person’s behavior, we know what he is thinking.
[It is as though] the place where the dead people are is always wanting more people to [die and] come there; and humans [SYN] are always wanting to acquire more things, [too]. (Sheol h7585)
21 Dhahabu gi fedha itemo gi mach, to dhano itemo gi pak moyudo.
[Workers put] silver and gold in a very hot furnace [to burn out what is impure], and [SIM] people learn [what we are really like when they see how we react when people] praise us.
22 Kata bed ni iyoko ngʼat mofuwo e pany, iyoke kaka cham miswago, ok inigol fupe oa kuome.
Even if you beat/crush a fool severely [like] [MET] you pulverize grain with a pestle, you [probably] will not be able to cause him to stop (being foolish/doing foolish things).
23 Bed ni ingʼeyo maber kaka jambi chalo; bende rit maber kwethgi;
Take good care of your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle,
24 nimar mwandu ok sik mochwere, to osimbo mar loch ok nobed ne tiengʼ ka tiengʼ.
because the money [that you acquired from selling animals previously] will not (last/stay with you) forever; similarly [SIM], governments [MTY] certainly do not [RHQ] last forever.
25 Ka ongʼad lum oko eka manyien twi, to ka ichoko ne jambi lum manie kor got,
After you cut the hay [DOU] and [store it to feed the animals in the winter while] a new crop of hay is growing,
26 eka iniyud yie rombe milosgo lewni, kendo iningʼiew lowo gi pesa miyudo kuom diek.
you will be able to [shear the sheep and] make clothes from the wool, and you will get money from selling [some of] the goats to buy [more] land,
27 Ibiro bedo gi chak mangʼeny mar diek ma ibiro pidhorigo gi joodi kendo pidho nyiri matiyoni.
and you will get enough milk from the [other] goats for you and your family and your female servants.
