< Proverbs 14 >

1 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.
חכמות נשים בנתה ביתה ואולת בידיה תהרסנו
2 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.
הולך בישרו ירא יהוה ונלוז דרכיו בוזהו
3 Foolish people will be punished [MTY] for what they say, but wise [people] will be protected by what they say [MTY].
בפי-אויל חטר גאוה ושפתי חכמים תשמורם
4 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.
באין אלפים אבוס בר ורב-תבואות בכח שור
5 Witnesses who are reliable [always] say what (is true/really happened), but witnesses who are not reliable constantly tell lies [about what happened].
עד אמונים לא יכזב ויפיח כזבים עד שקר
6 Those who make fun [of being wise] will never become wise, but those who understand [what is right] learn things easily.
בקש-לץ חכמה ואין ודעת לנבון נקל
7 Stay away from foolish people, because they will not be able to teach you anything [useful].
לך מנגד לאיש כסיל ובל-ידעת שפתי-דעת
8 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.
חכמת ערום הבין דרכו ואולת כסילים מרמה
9 Foolish people make fun of their committing sins; but God is pleased with those who do what is right.
אולים יליץ אשם ובין ישרים רצון
10 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.
לב--יודע מרת נפשו ובשמחתו לא-יתערב זר
11 Houses built by wicked [people] will be destroyed, but houses built by good/righteous [people] will last for a long time.
בית רשעים ישמד ואהל ישרים יפריח
12 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.
יש דרך ישר לפני-איש ואחריתה דרכי-מות
13 [Sometimes] when people laugh, they are [really] sad, and when they stop laughing, they are still sad.
גם-בשחק יכאב-לב ואחריתה שמחה תוגה
14 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.
מדרכיו ישבע סוג לב ומעליו איש טוב
15 Foolish people believe everything [that people tell them]; those who have good sense think carefully about what will be the result of their actions.
פתי יאמין לכל-דבר וערום יבין לאשרו
16 Wise people are careful and avoid [doing things that will give them] trouble; foolish people are careless and act (too quickly/without thinking).
חכם ירא וסר מרע וכסיל מתעבר ובוטח
17 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).
קצר-אפים יעשה אולת ואיש מזמות ישנא
18 Foolish people get what they deserve for doing foolish things; those with good sense are rewarded [MET] by being able to learn a lot.
נחלו פתאים אולת וערומים יכתרו דעת
19 [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].
שחו רעים לפני טובים ורשעים על-שערי צדיק
20 [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].
גם-לרעהו ישנא רש ואהבי עשיר רבים
21 It is sinful to despise your [poor] neighbors; [God] is pleased with those who do kind things for the poor.
בז-לרעהו חוטא ומחונן עניים (ענוים) אשריו
22 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.
הלוא-יתעו חרשי רע וחסד ואמת חרשי טוב
23 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.
בכל-עצב יהיה מותר ודבר-שפתים אך-למחסור
24 One of the rewards [MET] of being wise is to become rich; the reward of acting foolishly is to become more foolish.
עטרת חכמים עשרם אולת כסילים אולת
25 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].
מציל נפשות עד אמת ויפח כזבים מרמה
26 Those who revere Yahweh are confident [that he will protect them], and their family will [also] be protected.
ביראת יהוה מבטח-עז ולבניו יהיה מחסה
27 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].
יראת יהוה מקור חיים-- לסור ממקשי מות
28 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.
ברב-עם הדרת-מלך ובאפס לאם מחתת רזון
29 Those who do not quickly become angry are very wise; by quickly becoming angry, people show that they are foolish.
ארך אפים רב-תבונה וקצר-רוח מרים אולת
30 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.
חיי בשרים לב מרפא ורקב עצמות קנאה
31 Those who oppress poor people are insulting God, the one who made those poor people, but acting kindly toward them is respecting God.
עשק דל חרף עשהו ומכבדו חנן אביון
32 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).
ברעתו ידחה רשע וחסה במותו צדיק
33 Those who have good sense always think what is wise; foolish people do not know anything about being wise.
בלב נבון תנוח חכמה ובקרב כסילים תודע
34 [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.
צדקה תרומם-גוי וחסד לאמים חטאת
35 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.
רצון-מלך לעבד משכיל ועברתו תהיה מביש

< Proverbs 14 >