Παροιμίαι 22
1 αἱρετώτερον ὄνομα καλὸν ἢ πλοῦτος πολύς ὑπὲρ δὲ ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον χάρις ἀγαθή
A good reputation is a much better choice than plenty of money; respect is better than silver and gold.
2 πλούσιος καὶ πτωχὸς συνήντησαν ἀλλήλοις ἀμφοτέρους δὲ ὁ κύριος ἐποίησεν
The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord created them all.
3 πανοῦργος ἰδὼν πονηρὸν τιμωρούμενον κραταιῶς αὐτὸς παιδεύεται οἱ δὲ ἄφρονες παρελθόντες ἐζημιώθησαν
If you're sensible you see danger coming and get out of the way; but stupid people just keep going and pay for it.
4 γενεὰ σοφίας φόβος κυρίου καὶ πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα καὶ ζωή
The reward you receive for being humble and respecting the Lord is wealth, honor, and life.
5 τρίβολοι καὶ παγίδες ἐν ὁδοῖς σκολιαῖς ὁ δὲ φυλάσσων τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν ἀφέξεται αὐτῶν
Thorns and traps lie in the path of crooked people; those who value their lives will stay away from them.
Teach children the right way to live, and when they grow up they'll go on doing so.
7 πλούσιοι πτωχῶν ἄρξουσιν καὶ οἰκέται ἰδίοις δεσπόταις δανιοῦσιν
The rich rule the poor, and borrowers are slaves to their lenders.
8 ὁ σπείρων φαῦλα θερίσει κακά πληγὴν δὲ ἔργων αὐτοῦ συντελέσει ἄνδρα ἱλαρὸν καὶ δότην εὐλογεῖ ὁ θεός ματαιότητα δὲ ἔργων αὐτοῦ συντελέσει
Those who sow injustice will reap disaster, and the angry beatings they inflict on others will be stopped.
9 ὁ ἐλεῶν πτωχὸν αὐτὸς διατραφήσεται τῶν γὰρ ἑαυτοῦ ἄρτων ἔδωκεν τῷ πτωχῷ νίκην καὶ τιμὴν περιποιεῖται ὁ δῶρα δούς τὴν μέντοι ψυχὴν ἀφαιρεῖται τῶν κεκτημένων
If you're generous, you'll be blessed, for you share your food with those in need.
10 ἔκβαλε ἐκ συνεδρίου λοιμόν καὶ συνεξελεύσεται αὐτῷ νεῖκος ὅταν γὰρ καθίσῃ ἐν συνεδρίῳ πάντας ἀτιμάζει
Get rid of the scornful, and you'll get rid of conflict too—no more arguments or insults!
11 ἀγαπᾷ κύριος ὁσίας καρδίας δεκτοὶ δὲ αὐτῷ πάντες ἄμωμοι χείλεσιν ποιμαίνει βασιλεύς
Anyone who loves sincerity and a gracious way of speaking will have the king as their friend.
12 οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ κυρίου διατηροῦσιν αἴσθησιν φαυλίζει δὲ λόγους παράνομος
The Lord watches over true knowledge, but counteracts the words of liars.
13 προφασίζεται καὶ λέγει ὀκνηρός λέων ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἐν δὲ ταῖς πλατείαις φονευταί
Lazy people make claims like, “There's a lion outside! I might be killed if I go out there!”
14 βόθρος βαθὺς στόμα παρανόμου ὁ δὲ μισηθεὶς ὑπὸ κυρίου ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς αὐτόν εἰσὶν ὁδοὶ κακαὶ ἐνώπιον ἀνδρός καὶ οὐκ ἀγαπᾷ τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἀποστρέφειν δὲ δεῖ ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ σκολιᾶς καὶ κακῆς
The seductive words of an immoral woman are a dangerous trap—if the Lord's angry with you, then you'll fall right in.
15 ἄνοια ἐξῆπται καρδίας νέου ῥάβδος δὲ καὶ παιδεία μακρὰν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ
Children are naturally foolish; physical correction helps them to see sense.
16 ὁ συκοφαντῶν πένητα πολλὰ ποιεῖ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ δίδωσιν δὲ πλουσίῳ ἐπ’ ἐλάσσονι
If you oppress the poor to make yourself rich, or if you're generous to the rich, you'll end up poor yourself.
17 λόγοις σοφῶν παράβαλλε σὸν οὖς καὶ ἄκουε ἐμὸν λόγον τὴν δὲ σὴν καρδίαν ἐπίστησον ἵνα γνῷς ὅτι καλοί εἰσιν
Pay attention and listen to the words of the wise, and think carefully about my teachings—
18 καὶ ἐὰν ἐμβάλῃς αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου εὐφρανοῦσίν σε ἅμα ἐπὶ σοῖς χείλεσιν
for it's good to keep them in mind so you can be ready to share them.
19 ἵνα σου γένηται ἐπὶ κύριον ἡ ἐλπὶς καὶ γνωρίσῃ σοι τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ
I'm explaining this to you today so you can trust in the Lord—yes, you!
20 καὶ σὺ δὲ ἀπόγραψαι αὐτὰ σεαυτῷ τρισσῶς εἰς βουλὴν καὶ γνῶσιν ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς καρδίας σου
Haven't I written down for you thirty sayings of advice and wisdom?
21 διδάσκω οὖν σε ἀληθῆ λόγον καὶ γνῶσιν ἀγαθὴν ὑπακούειν τοῦ ἀποκρίνεσθαι λόγους ἀληθείας τοῖς προβαλλομένοις σοι
They are to make it clear to you what's right and true, so you can give a truthful explanation to those who sent you.
22 μὴ ἀποβιάζου πένητα πτωχὸς γάρ ἐστιν καὶ μὴ ἀτιμάσῃς ἀσθενῆ ἐν πύλαις
For you shouldn't steal from the poor just because they're poor; and you shouldn't crush those with limited means in court,
23 ὁ γὰρ κύριος κρινεῖ αὐτοῦ τὴν κρίσιν καὶ ῥύσῃ σὴν ἄσυλον ψυχήν
for the Lord will plead their case, and he will take back whatever was stolen from them.
24 μὴ ἴσθι ἑταῖρος ἀνδρὶ θυμώδει φίλῳ δὲ ὀργίλῳ μὴ συναυλίζου
Don't make friends with someone who gets upset easily; don't associate with angry people,
25 μήποτε μάθῃς τῶν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ λάβῃς βρόχους τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ
in case you learn to be like them and make a mess of your life.
26 μὴ δίδου σεαυτὸν εἰς ἐγγύην αἰσχυνόμενος πρόσωπον
Don't shake hands and guarantee someone's debt,
27 ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ἔχῃς πόθεν ἀποτείσῃς λήμψονται τὸ στρῶμα τὸ ὑπὸ τὰς πλευράς σου
for if you can't pay, why should your bed be taken away from beneath you?
28 μὴ μέταιρε ὅρια αἰώνια ἃ ἔθεντο οἱ πατέρες σου
Don't move ancient boundary markers that your forefathers put in place.
29 ὁρατικὸν ἄνδρα καὶ ὀξὺν ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ βασιλεῦσι δεῖ παρεστάναι καὶ μὴ παρεστάναι ἀνδράσι νωθροῖς
If you see someone skilled in what they do, they'll work for kings and not for ordinary people.
