מִשְׁלֵי 19

1 טוב רש הולך בתמו מעקש שפתיו והוא כסיל׃

Conducting our lives as we should [even though] we are poor is better than being foolish and telling lies.

2 גם בלא דעת נפש לא טוב ואץ ברגלים חוטא׃

Being enthusiastic but not thinking carefully [about what we are about to do] is not good; doing things hastily can cause us a lot of trouble [IDM].

3 אולת אדם תסלף דרכו ועל יהוה יזעף לבו׃

Some people are ruined as a result of their [own] foolish actions, and when that happens, they [SYN] angrily say that it is Yahweh’s fault.

4 הון יסיף רעים רבים ודל מרעהו יפרד׃

Those who are rich easily find people who want to be their friends, but when [people become] poor, their friends [often] desert them.

5 עד שקרים לא ינקה ויפיח כזבים לא ימלט׃

Those who tell lies in court will surely be punished [LIT]; they will not escape it.

6 רבים יחלו פני נדיב וכל הרע לאיש מתן׃

Many [people] try to persuade important people to do favors for them; everyone [wants to] be a friend of those who give gifts.

7 כל אחי רש שנאהו אף כי מרעהו רחקו ממנו מרדף אמרים לא המה׃

[Even] the relatives of someone who becomes poor hate him, and his friends certainly stay away from him, too; [even] if he tries to talk with them, they will not be his friends [again].

8 קנה לב אהב נפשו שמר תבונה למצא טוב׃

Those who become wise [IDM] are doing a favor for themselves; those who get good sense will prosper.

9 עד שקרים לא ינקה ויפיח כזבים יאבד׃

Those who tell lies in court will certainly be punished [LIT]; they will be ruined.

10 לא נאוה לכסיל תענוג אף כי לעבד משל בשרים׃

It is not appropriate for foolish people to live (luxuriously/like rich people), and it is even less appropriate for slaves to rule important officials.

11 שכל אדם האריך אפו ותפארתו עבר על פשע׃

Those who have good sense do not quickly become angry; people respect those who ignore offensive [things that people say to them].

12 נהם ככפיר זעף מלך וכטל על עשב רצונו׃

When a king is angry, [that causes people to be afraid of him], like the roar of a lion [causes people to be afraid] [SIM], but if he acts kindly toward people, [they like it just] like [they like] dew on the grass [in the morning].

13 הות לאביו בן כסיל ודלף טרד מדיני אשה׃

Foolish children [can] cause disasters to happen to their parents. A wife who constantly (nags/quarrels with) [her husband is as annoying as] water that continually drips [MET].

14 בית והון נחלת אבות ומיהוה אשה משכלת׃

We [can] inherit a house or money from our parents [when they die], but only Yahweh [can] give someone a sensible wife.

15 עצלה תפיל תרדמה ונפש רמיה תרעב׃

Those who are lazy sleep soundly, but if they are lazy, they will be hungry [because of not earning money to buy food].

16 שמר מצוה שמר נפשו בוזה דרכיו יומת׃

Those who obey [God’s] commandments will remain alive [for a long time]; those who despise/disobey them (OR, those who do not control their own conduct) will die [while they are still young].

17 מלוה יהוה חונן דל וגמלו ישלם לו׃

When we give things to poor [people], [it is as though] we are lending to Yahweh, and he will (pay us back/reward us for what we did).

18 יסר בנך כי יש תקוה ואל המיתו אל תשא נפשך׃

Discipline your children while [they are young], while you still hope that [they will learn to behave as they should]; [if you do not discipline them], you are helping them to destroy [themselves].

19 גרל חמה נשא ענש כי אם תציל ועוד תוסף׃

Those who (do not control their temper/quickly become very angry) will have to endure what happens as a result; [but] if we rescue them [from those troubles once], we will have to continue rescuing them.

20 שמע עצה וקבל מוסר למען תחכם באחריתך׃

Pay attention when [people give you good] advice and learn from them, in order that you will become wise for the rest of your life.

21 רבות מחשבות בלב איש ועצת יהוה היא תקום׃

People plan to do many [kinds of things], but what will happen is what Yahweh has decided will happen.

22 תאות אדם חסדו וטוב רש מאיש כזב׃

People want others to be loyal to them; it is better to be poor than to tell a lie [to a judge in court in order to get money].

23 יראת יהוה לחיים ושבע ילין בל יפקד רע׃

[Those who have] an awesome respect for Yahweh will live [a long life]; they rest peacefully and are not harmed [during the night].

24 טמן עצל ידו בצלחת גם אל פיהו לא ישיבנה׃

Some people are extremely lazy; they put their hand in a dish [to take some food] but do not even lift the food up to their mouths.

25 לץ תכה ופתי יערם והוכיח לנבון יבין דעת׃

If you punish someone who makes fun of those who are wise, those who (are naive/need to be instructed) will learn to do what is smart; if you rebuke those who are wise, they will [listen to what you say and] become wiser.

26 משדד אב יבריח אם בן מביש ומחפיר׃

Anyone who mistreats/abuses his father or forces his mother to leave the home is a child who is acting shamefully and disgracefully.

27 חדל בני לשמע מוסר לשגות מאמרי דעת׃

My son, if you stop learning things, you will [soon] forget what [you already] know.

28 עד בליעל יליץ משפט ופי רשעים יבלע און׃

Worthless witnesses [in court] make fun of [judges who try to] make fair decisions, and wicked people [enjoy] doing evil [like] they enjoy eating [good food] [MET].

29 נכונו ללצים שפטים ומהלמות לגו כסילים׃

[God] is ready to punish those who make fun [of him/religion]; those who do foolish things deserve to be flogged/whipped.