Παροιμίαι 14
1 σοφαὶ γυναῖκες ᾠκοδόμησαν οἴκους ἡ δὲ ἄφρων κατέσκαψεν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῆς
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 ὁ πορευόμενος ὀρθῶς φοβεῖται τὸν κύριον ὁ δὲ σκολιάζων ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ ἀτιμασθήσεται
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 ἐκ στόματος ἀφρόνων βακτηρία ὕβρεως χείλη δὲ σοφῶν φυλάσσει αὐτούς
Foolish people will be punished [MTY] for what they say, but wise [people] will be protected by what they say [MTY].
4 οὗ μή εἰσιν βόες φάτναι καθαραί οὗ δὲ πολλὰ γενήματα φανερὰ βοὸς ἰσχύς
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 μάρτυς πιστὸς οὐ ψεύδεται ἐκκαίει δὲ ψεύδη μάρτυς ἄδικος
Witnesses who are reliable [always] say what (is true/really happened), but witnesses who are not reliable constantly tell lies [about what happened].
6 ζητήσεις σοφίαν παρὰ κακοῖς καὶ οὐχ εὑρήσεις αἴσθησις δὲ παρὰ φρονίμοις εὐχερής
Those who make fun [of being wise] will never become wise, but those who understand [what is right] learn things easily.
7 πάντα ἐναντία ἀνδρὶ ἄφρονι ὅπλα δὲ αἰσθήσεως χείλη σοφά
Stay away from foolish people, because they will not be able to teach you anything [useful].
8 σοφία πανούργων ἐπιγνώσεται τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῶν ἄνοια δὲ ἀφρόνων ἐν πλάνῃ
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 οἰκίαι παρανόμων ὀφειλήσουσιν καθαρισμόν οἰκίαι δὲ δικαίων δεκταί
Foolish people make fun of their committing sins; but God is pleased with those who do what is right.
10 καρδία ἀνδρὸς αἰσθητική λυπηρὰ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ὅταν δὲ εὐφραίνηται οὐκ ἐπιμείγνυται ὕβρει
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 οἰκίαι ἀσεβῶν ἀφανισθήσονται σκηναὶ δὲ κατορθούντων στήσονται
Houses built by wicked [people] will be destroyed, but houses built by good/righteous [people] will last for a long time.
12 ἔστιν ὁδὸς ἣ δοκεῖ ὀρθὴ εἶναι παρὰ ἀνθρώποις τὰ δὲ τελευταῖα αὐτῆς ἔρχεται εἰς πυθμένα ᾅδου
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 ἐν εὐφροσύναις οὐ προσμείγνυται λύπη τελευταία δὲ χαρὰ εἰς πένθος ἔρχεται
[Sometimes] when people laugh, they are [really] sad, and when they stop laughing, they are still sad.
14 τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ὁδῶν πλησθήσεται θρασυκάρδιος ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν διανοημάτων αὐτοῦ ἀνὴρ ἀγαθός
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 ἄκακος πιστεύει παντὶ λόγῳ πανοῦργος δὲ ἔρχεται εἰς μετάνοιαν
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 σοφὸς φοβηθεὶς ἐξέκλινεν ἀπὸ κακοῦ ὁ δὲ ἄφρων ἑαυτῷ πεποιθὼς μείγνυται ἀνόμῳ
Wise people are careful and avoid [doing things that will give them] trouble; foolish people are careless and act (too quickly/without thinking).
17 ὀξύθυμος πράσσει μετὰ ἀβουλίας ἀνὴρ δὲ φρόνιμος πολλὰ ὑποφέρει
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 μεριοῦνται ἄφρονες κακίαν οἱ δὲ πανοῦργοι κρατήσουσιν αἰσθήσεως
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 ὀλισθήσουσιν κακοὶ ἔναντι ἀγαθῶν καὶ ἀσεβεῖς θεραπεύσουσιν θύρας δικαίων
[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 φίλοι μισήσουσιν φίλους πτωχούς φίλοι δὲ πλουσίων πολλοί
[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 ὁ ἀτιμάζων πένητας ἁμαρτάνει ἐλεῶν δὲ πτωχοὺς μακαριστός
It is sinful to despise your [poor] neighbors; [God] is pleased with those who do kind things for the poor.
22 πλανώμενοι τεκταίνουσι κακά ἔλεον δὲ καὶ ἀλήθειαν τεκταίνουσιν ἀγαθοί οὐκ ἐπίστανται ἔλεον καὶ πίστιν τέκτονες κακῶν ἐλεημοσύναι δὲ καὶ πίστεις παρὰ τέκτοσιν ἀγαθοῖς
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 ἐν παντὶ μεριμνῶντι ἔνεστιν περισσόν ὁ δὲ ἡδὺς καὶ ἀνάλγητος ἐν ἐνδείᾳ ἔσται
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 στέφανος σοφῶν πανοῦργος ἡ δὲ διατριβὴ ἀφρόνων κακή
One of the rewards [MET] of being wise is to become rich; the reward of acting foolishly is to become more foolish.
25 ῥύσεται ἐκ κακῶν ψυχὴν μάρτυς πιστός ἐκκαίει δὲ ψεύδη δόλιος
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 ἐν φόβῳ κυρίου ἐλπὶς ἰσχύος τοῖς δὲ τέκνοις αὐτοῦ καταλείπει ἔρεισμα
Those who revere Yahweh are confident [that he will protect them], and their family will [also] be protected.
27 πρόσταγμα κυρίου πηγὴ ζωῆς ποιεῖ δὲ ἐκκλίνειν ἐκ παγίδος θανάτου
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 ἐν πολλῷ ἔθνει δόξα βασιλέως ἐν δὲ ἐκλείψει λαοῦ συντριβὴ δυνάστου
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 μακρόθυμος ἀνὴρ πολὺς ἐν φρονήσει ὁ δὲ ὀλιγόψυχος ἰσχυρῶς ἄφρων
Those who do not quickly become angry are very wise; by quickly becoming angry, people show that they are foolish.
30 πραΰθυμος ἀνὴρ καρδίας ἰατρός σὴς δὲ ὀστέων καρδία αἰσθητική
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 ὁ συκοφαντῶν πένητα παροξύνει τὸν ποιήσαντα αὐτόν ὁ δὲ τιμῶν αὐτὸν ἐλεᾷ πτωχόν
Those who oppress poor people are insulting God, the one who made those poor people, but acting kindly toward them is respecting God.
32 ἐν κακίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἀπωσθήσεται ἀσεβής ὁ δὲ πεποιθὼς τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ὁσιότητι δίκαιος
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 ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀγαθῇ ἀνδρὸς σοφία ἐν δὲ καρδίᾳ ἀφρόνων οὐ διαγινώσκεται
Those who have good sense always think what is wise; foolish people do not know anything about being wise.
34 δικαιοσύνη ὑψοῖ ἔθνος ἐλασσονοῦσι δὲ φυλὰς ἁμαρτίαι
[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 δεκτὸς βασιλεῖ ὑπηρέτης νοήμων τῇ δὲ ἑαυτοῦ εὐστροφίᾳ ἀφαιρεῖται ἀτιμίαν
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.
