Παροιμίαι 20
1 ἀκόλαστον οἶνος καὶ ὑβριστικὸν μέθη πᾶς δὲ ὁ συμμειγνύμενος αὐτῇ οὐκ ἔσται σοφός
Drinking a lot of wine or [other] strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.
2 οὐ διαφέρει ἀπειλὴ βασιλέως θυμοῦ λέοντος ὁ δὲ παροξύνων αὐτὸν ἁμαρτάνει εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν
Being afraid of a king when he is angry is like [SIM] being afraid of a lion when it growls/roars; if you cause the king to become angry, he may execute you.
3 δόξα ἀνδρὶ ἀποστρέφεσθαι λοιδορίας πᾶς δὲ ἄφρων τοιούτοις συμπλέκεται
[People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
4 ὀνειδιζόμενος ὀκνηρὸς οὐκ αἰσχύνεται ὡσαύτως καὶ ὁ δανιζόμενος σῖτον ἐν ἀμήτῳ
[If] a lazy man does not plow [his fields at the right/proper time], he will look for [crops] at harvest [time], but there will be nothing there.
5 ὕδωρ βαθὺ βουλὴ ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀνδρός ἀνὴρ δὲ φρόνιμος ἐξαντλήσει αὐτήν
[Just] as it is difficult to bring up water from a deep well, it is difficult to know what people are thinking, but someone who has good sense/insight will be able to find out what people are thinking.
6 μέγα ἄνθρωπος καὶ τίμιον ἀνὴρ ἐλεήμων ἄνδρα δὲ πιστὸν ἔργον εὑρεῖν
Many people proclaim that they can be trusted [to do what they say that they will do], but it is very difficult to find [RHQ] someone who can really be trusted.
7 ὃς ἀναστρέφεται ἄμωμος ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ μακαρίους τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ καταλείψει
If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).
8 ὅταν βασιλεὺς δίκαιος καθίσῃ ἐπὶ θρόνου οὐκ ἐναντιοῦται ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ πᾶν πονηρόν
A king who sits on his throne to judge people can [easily] [MTY] find out what things that people have done are good and what things are evil.
9 τίς καυχήσεται ἁγνὴν ἔχειν τὴν καρδίαν ἢ τίς παρρησιάσεται καθαρὸς εἶναι ἀπὸ ἁμαρτιῶν κακολογοῦντος πατέρα ἢ μητέρα σβεσθήσεται λαμπτήρ αἱ δὲ κόραι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ ὄψονται σκότος μερὶς ἐπισπουδαζομένη ἐν πρώτοις ἐν τοῖς τελευταίοις οὐκ εὐλογηθήσεται μὴ εἴπῃς τείσομαι τὸν ἐχθρόν ἀλλὰ ὑπόμεινον τὸν κύριον ἵνα σοι βοηθήσῃ
There is no one [RHQ] who can truthfully say, “I do not know of any wrong things that I have done; I have (gotten rid of all my sinful behavior/quit doing what is sinful).”
10 στάθμιον μέγα καὶ μικρὸν καὶ μέτρα δισσά ἀκάθαρτα ἐνώπιον κυρίου καὶ ἀμφότερα
Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
11 καὶ ὁ ποιῶν αὐτὰ ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν αὐτοῦ συμποδισθήσεται νεανίσκος μετὰ ὁσίου καὶ εὐθεῖα ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτοῦ
Even children show by what they do whether they are good or not; they show whether (what they do/their behavior) is honest and right [or not].
12 οὖς ἀκούει καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς ὁρᾷ κυρίου ἔργα καὶ ἀμφότερα
Two of the things that Yahweh has created [for us] are ears to hear things and eyes to see things.
13 μὴ ἀγάπα καταλαλεῖν ἵνα μὴ ἐξαρθῇς διάνοιξον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου καὶ ἐμπλήσθητι ἄρτων
If you want to sleep [all the time], you will become poor; if you stay awake [and work], you will have plenty of food.
People [look at things that they are about] to buy, [and in order to get it for a lower price sometimes they] say, “(It is no good/It is poor quality),” but [after they buy it], they go and boast [about having bought it for a cheap price].
Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
If you foolishly promise to a stranger that you will pay what he owes if he is unable to pay it [DOU], [you deserve to] have someone take your coat from you.
People [may] think that food that they acquire by doing what is dishonest will taste very good, but later [they will not enjoy what they have done any more than they would enjoy] eating gravel/sand.
When people give you good advice, [if you do what they suggest], your plans will succeed; so be sure to get good advice from wise people before you start fighting a war.
Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].
If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.
If you very quickly take the property that your parents promise will be yours after they die, you will not receive any good/blessing from it.
Do not say, “I will do evil to those who do evil to me;” wait for Yahweh [to do something about it], and he will (help you/[do what is right]).
23 βδέλυγμα κυρίῳ δισσὸν στάθμιον καὶ ζυγὸς δόλιος οὐ καλὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ
Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.
24 παρὰ κυρίου εὐθύνεται τὰ διαβήματα ἀνδρί θνητὸς δὲ πῶς ἂν νοήσαι τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ
Yahweh is the one who has decided what will happen to us, so (how can we (understand/know) what will happen before it happens?/we humans certainly cannot (understand/know) what will happen before it happens.) [RHQ]
25 παγὶς ἀνδρὶ ταχύ τι τῶν ἰδίων ἁγιάσαι μετὰ γὰρ τὸ εὔξασθαι μετανοεῖν γίνεται
You should think carefully before you solemnly promise to dedicate something to God, because later you might be sorry you have promised to do it.
26 λικμήτωρ ἀσεβῶν βασιλεὺς σοφὸς καὶ ἐπιβαλεῖ αὐτοῖς τροχόν
Wise kings find out [MET] which people have done what is wrong, and they punish them very severely [IDM].
27 φῶς κυρίου πνοὴ ἀνθρώπων ὃς ἐρευνᾷ ταμίεια κοιλίας
Our consciences are [like] lamps that Yahweh [has given to us to enable us to know what we are thinking] [MET]; they reveal what is hidden deep in our (minds/inner beings).
28 ἐλεημοσύνη καὶ ἀλήθεια φυλακὴ βασιλεῖ καὶ περικυκλώσουσιν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ
Kings will continue to rule as long as they faithfully love their people and are loyal to them and as long as they rule righteously/fairly.
29 κόσμος νεανίαις σοφία δόξα δὲ πρεσβυτέρων πολιαί
We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.
30 ὑπώπια καὶ συντρίμματα συναντᾷ κακοῖς πληγαὶ δὲ εἰς ταμίεια κοιλίας
When we are beaten or whipped, it [can] cause us to quit doing what is evil in our lives; when someone wounds us [by punishing us], it [can] cause our behavior to become good.
