< Proverbs 26 >
1 Like snow in summer and rain when the grain is being cut, so honour is not natural for the foolish.
夏天落雪,收割時下雨,都不相宜; 愚昧人得尊榮也是如此。
2 As the sparrow in her wandering and the swallow in her flight, so the curse does not come without a cause.
麻雀往來,燕子翻飛; 這樣,無故的咒詛也必不臨到。
3 A whip for the horse, a mouth-bit for the ass, and a rod for the back of the foolish.
鞭子是為打馬,轡頭是為勒驢; 刑杖是為打愚昧人的背。
4 Do not give to the foolish man a foolish answer, or you will be like him.
不要照愚昧人的愚妄話回答他, 恐怕你與他一樣。
5 Give a foolish man a foolish answer, or he will seem wise to himself.
要照愚昧人的愚妄話回答他, 免得他自以為有智慧。
6 He who sends news by the hand of a foolish man is cutting off his feet and drinking in damage.
藉愚昧人手寄信的, 是砍斷自己的腳,自受損害。
7 The legs of one who has no power of walking are hanging loose; so is a wise saying in the mouth of the foolish.
瘸子的腳空存無用; 箴言在愚昧人的口中也是如此。
8 Giving honour to a foolish man is like attempting to keep a stone fixed in a cord.
將尊榮給愚昧人的, 好像人把石子包在機弦裏。
9 Like a thorn which goes up into the hand of a man overcome by drink, so is a wise saying in the mouth of a foolish man.
箴言在愚昧人的口中, 好像荊棘刺入醉漢的手。
10 Like an archer wounding all who go by, is a foolish man overcome by drink.
雇愚昧人的,與雇過路人的, 就像射傷眾人的弓箭手。
11 Like a dog going back to the food which he has not been able to keep down, is the foolish man doing his foolish acts over again.
愚昧人行愚妄事,行了又行, 就如狗轉過來吃牠所吐的。
12 Have you seen a man who seems to himself to be wise? There is more hope for the foolish than for him.
你見自以為有智慧的人嗎? 愚昧人比他更有指望。
13 The hater of work says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
懶惰人說:道上有猛獅, 街上有壯獅。
14 A door is turned on its pillar, and the hater of work on his bed.
門在樞紐轉動, 懶惰人在床上也是如此。
15 The hater of work puts his hand deep into the basin: lifting it again to his mouth is a weariness to him.
懶惰人放手在盤子裏, 就是向口撤回也以為勞乏。
16 The hater of work seems to himself wiser than seven men who are able to give an answer with good sense.
懶惰人看自己比七個善於應對的人更有智慧。
17 He who gets mixed up in a fight which is not his business, is like one who takes a dog by the ears while it is going by.
過路被事激動,管理不干己的爭競, 好像人揪住狗耳。
18 As one who is off his head sends about flaming sticks and arrows of death,
人欺凌鄰舍,卻說: 我豈不是戲耍嗎? 他就像瘋狂的人拋擲火把、利箭, 與殺人的兵器。
19 So is the man who gets the better of his neighbour by deceit, and says, Am I not doing so in sport?
20 Without wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no secret talk, argument is ended.
火缺了柴就必熄滅; 無人傳舌,爭競便止息。
21 Like breath on coals and wood on fire, so a man given to argument gets a fight started.
好爭競的人煽惑爭端, 就如餘火加炭,火上加柴一樣。
22 The words of one who says evil of his neighbour secretly are like sweet food, they go down into the inner parts of the stomach.
傳舌人的言語,如同美食, 深入人的心腹。
23 Smooth lips and an evil heart are like a vessel of earth plated with silver waste.
火熱的嘴,奸惡的心, 好像銀渣包的瓦器。
24 With his lips the hater makes things seem what they are not, but deceit is stored up inside him;
怨恨人的,用嘴粉飾, 心裏卻藏着詭詐;
25 When he says fair words, have no belief in him; for in his heart are seven evils:
他用甜言蜜語,你不可信他, 因為他心中有七樣可憎惡的。
26 Though his hate is covered with deceit, his sin will be seen openly before the meeting of the people.
他雖用詭詐遮掩自己的怨恨, 他的邪惡必在會中顯露。
27 He who makes a hole in the earth will himself go falling into it: and on him by whom a stone is rolled the stone will come back again.
挖陷坑的,自己必掉在其中; 滾石頭的,石頭必反滾在他身上。
28 A false tongue has hate for those who have clean hearts, and a smooth mouth is a cause of falling.
虛謊的舌恨他所壓傷的人; 諂媚的口敗壞人的事。