Proverbs 14

1 Wisdom is building her house, but the foolish woman is pulling it down with her hands.

Wise women [PRS] hold their families together [by the wise things that they do], but foolish women ruin their families by the foolish things that they do.

2 He who goes on his way in righteousness has before him the fear of the Lord; but he whose ways are twisted gives him no honour.

By [continually] behaving/acting righteously, [people show that they] greatly revere Yahweh; those who (walk on crooked paths/always deceive others) [show that they] despise him.

3 In the mouth of the foolish man is a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will keep them safe.

Foolish people will be punished [MTY] for what they say, but wise [people] will be protected by what they say [MTY].

4 Where there are no oxen, their food-place is clean; but much increase comes through the strength of the ox.

If [a man has] no oxen [to plow his field], he does not [need to put] grain [in their feedbox], but if [he has] oxen, they will enable [him to produce] an abundant crop.

5 A true witness does not say what is false, but a false witness is breathing out deceit.

Witnesses who are reliable [always] say what (is true/really happened), but witnesses who are not reliable constantly tell lies [about what happened].

6 The hater of authority, searching for wisdom, does not get it; but knowledge comes readily to the open-minded man.

Those who make fun [of being wise] will never become wise, but those who understand [what is right] learn things easily.

7 Go away from the foolish man, for you will not see the lips of knowledge.

Stay away from foolish people, because they will not be able to teach you anything [useful].

8 The wisdom of the man of good sense makes his way clear; but the unwise behaviour of the foolish is deceit.

Those who have good sense are wise, so they know what they should do [and what they should not do]; foolish people do not know what is right to do, but because they think that they do, they are deceiving themselves.

9 In the tents of those hating authority there is error, but in the house of the upright man there is grace.

Foolish people make fun of their committing sins; but God is pleased with those who do what is right.

10 No one has knowledge of a man's grief but himself; and a strange person has no part in his joy.

If you are very sad or if you are joyful, only you know what you are experiencing; no one else [can] know what you are feeling.

11 The house of the sinner will be overturned, but the tent of the upright man will do well.

Houses built by wicked [people] will be destroyed, but houses built by good/righteous [people] will last for a long time.

12 There is a way which seems straight before a man, but its end is the ways of death.

There are some kinds of behavior [MET] that [some] people [falsely] think are right, but (walking on those roads/continually doing those things) causes [those people] to die.

13 Even while laughing the heart may be sad; and after joy comes sorrow.

[Sometimes] when people laugh, they are [really] sad, and when they stop laughing, they are still sad.

14 He whose heart is turned away will have the reward of his ways in full measure; but a good man will have the reward of his doings.

Those who stubbornly continue to do what is wrong will get what they deserve, and those who continually do what is good will [also] get what they deserve.

15 The simple man has faith in every word, but the man of good sense gives thought to his footsteps.

Foolish people believe everything [that people tell them]; those who have good sense think carefully about what will be the result of their actions.

16 The wise man, fearing, keeps himself from evil; but the foolish man goes on in his pride, with no thought of danger.

Wise people are careful and avoid [doing things that will give them] trouble; foolish people are careless and act (too quickly/without thinking).

17 He who is quickly angry will do what is foolish, but the man of good sense will have quiet.

Those who quickly become angry [IDM] do foolish things; [people] hate those who plan to do wicked things (OR, those who have good sense remain calm/patient).

18 Foolish behaviour is the heritage of the simple, but men of good sense are crowned with knowledge.

Foolish people get what they deserve for doing foolish things; those with good sense are rewarded [MET] by being able to learn a lot.

19 The knees of the evil are bent before the good; and sinners go down in the dust at the doors of the upright.

[Some day] evil [people] will bow down in front of righteous [people to show that they respect them]; they [will humbly stand] at the gates of [the houses of] righteous [people and request their help].

20 The poor man is hated even by his neighbour, but the man of wealth has numbers of friends.

[No one likes] poor [people]; even their friends/neighbors do not like them; rich [people] have many friends, but [only while the rich people still have money].

21 He who has no respect for his neighbour is a sinner, but he who has pity for the poor is happy.

It is sinful to despise your [poor] neighbors; [God] is pleased with those who do kind things for the poor.

22 Will not the designers of evil come into error? But mercy and good faith are for the designers of good.

Those who plan to do things that are evil/wrong are walking on the wrong road; people faithfully love, respect and are loyal to those who plan to do what is good.

23 In all hard work there is profit, but talk only makes a man poor.

If you work hard, you will (accomplish something good/get a good income), but if all you do is to talk [and not work], you will remain poor.

24 Their wisdom is a crown to the wise, but their foolish behaviour is round the head of the unwise.

One of the rewards [MET] of being wise is to become rich; the reward of acting foolishly is to become more foolish.

25 A true witness is the saviour of lives; but he who says false things is a cause of deceit.

By saying [in court] what is true, you [can] save the life [of the one who is being falsely accused]; if you tell lies, you are abandoning someone who needs your help [to defend him].

26 For him in whose heart is the fear of the Lord there is strong hope: and his children will have a safe place.

Those who revere Yahweh are confident [that he will protect them], and their family will [also] be protected.

27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, by which one may be turned from the nets of death.

Having an awesome respect for Yahweh is [like] [MET] [having] a fountain that gives life; it will help you to escape when something dangerous is threatening to kill you [MET].

28 A king's glory is in the number of his people: and for need of people a ruler may come to destruction.

If a king rules over many people, many people will [be able to] honor him; if he has only a few people in his kingdom, he will have very little [HYP] power.

29 He who is slow to be angry has great good sense; but he whose spirit is over-quick gives support to what is foolish.

Those who do not quickly become angry are very wise; by quickly becoming angry, people show that they are foolish.

30 A quiet mind is the life of the body, but envy is a disease in the bones.

Having a mind that is peaceful results in having a healthy body; having a mind that is [often] in turmoil is [like] [MET] cancer in [a person’s] bones.

31 He who is hard on the poor puts shame on his Maker; but he who has mercy on those who are in need gives him honour.

Those who oppress poor people are insulting God, the one who made those poor people, but acting kindly toward them is respecting God.

32 The sinner is overturned in his evil-doing, but the upright man has hope in his righteousness.

Wicked [people] ruin themselves by the evil things that they do, but righteous/good [people] are kept safe/protected even when they die (OR, because of their continually doing what is right).

33 Wisdom has her resting-place in the mind of the wise, but she is not seen among the foolish.

Those who have good sense always think what is wise; foolish people do not know anything about being wise.

34 By righteousness a nation is lifted up, but sin is a cause of shame to the peoples.

[When] the people of a nation [continually act] righteously, it causes that nation to be great; [continually doing what is] evil causes a nation to be disgraced.

35 The king has pleasure in a servant who does wisely, but his wrath is against him who is a cause of shame.

Kings are pleased with officials who do their work competently/skillfully, but they punish [MTY] those who [do their work in a manner that] causes the kings to be disgraced.