מִשְׁלֵי 25
| גם אלה משלי שלמה אשר העתיקו אנשי חזקיה מלך יהודה׃ | 1 |
Here are more wise sayings/words that Solomon [wrote]. Some men who worked for Hezekiah, the king of Judah, copied them [from a scroll that Solomon had written].
| כבד אלהים הסתר דבר וכבד מלכים חקר דבר׃ | 2 |
[We consider] God to be great because he (acts in mysterious ways/does things that we cannot understand); [we consider] kings to be great because they explain things.
| שמים לרום וארץ לעמק ולב מלכים אין חקר׃ | 3 |
[It is not possible for anyone to measure] how high the sky is or how deep the earth/ocean is; likewise [SIM], it is not possible for us to know [all] that kings are thinking.
| הגו סיגים מכסף ויצא לצרף כלי׃ | 4 |
[If workers] burn out the impure bits that are in silver, a man who makes things from silver can make something beautiful from the silver.
| הגו רשע לפני מלך ויכון בצדק כסאו׃ | 5 |
[Similarly, if] wicked [advisors] are taken away from a king, his government will remain secure, because [the king will be able to] act justly.
| אל תתהדר לפני מלך ובמקום גדלים אל תעמד׃ | 6 |
When you stand in front of a king, do not try to (impress him/honor yourself) and do not (act like you are important/ask to sit where important people sit; )
| כי טוב אמר לך עלה הנה מהשפילך לפני נדיב אשר ראו עיניך׃ | 7 |
it is better if someone tells you to sit closer [to the king] than for [someone to tell you], while the king is listening, to sit further away in order that someone who is more important [may sit closer to the king].
| אל תצא לרב מהר פן מה תעשה באחריתה בהכלים אתך רעך׃ | 8 |
Do not quickly go to a court [to tell the judge about] something that you have seen, because another witness may later [say something that proves that you are wrong, and as a result] you will be disgraced/ashamed. If that happens, (what will you do?/you will not know what to do.) [RHQ]
| ריבך ריב את רעך וסוד אחר אל תגל׃ | 9 |
If you and someone else think differently about some matter, settle it between yourselves, and do not tell others any secret [that he has told you].
| פן יחסדך שמע ודבתך לא תשוב׃ | 10 |
If others find out that you have told secrets, you will be ashamed, and from that time on, (you will have a bad reputation/people will think badly about you).
| תפוחי זהב במשכיות כסף דבר דבר על אפניו׃ | 11 |
Something that is said that is [very] appropriate is [as delightful as seeing] [SIM] gold apples/ornaments in a silver bowl.
| נזם זהב וחלי כתם מוכיח חכם על אזן שמעת׃ | 12 |
When a wise person rebukes/warns someone [SYN] who is willing to listen, that is [as valuable as] [SIM] a gold ring or a gold chain.
| כצנת שלג ביום קציר ציר נאמן לשלחיו ונפש אדניו ישיב׃ | 13 |
A messenger who (is reliable/tells someone else exactly what he was told to say) refreshes [the spirits of] his bosses who sent him like [SIM] (snow/cold water) refreshes [the ground] at the time that [people] harvest crops.
| נשיאים ורוח וגשם אין איש מתהלל במתת שקר׃ | 14 |
When someone promises to give a gift to us but never gives it, [that disappoints us] as much as [SIM] clouds and wind that come but do not bring any rain.
| בארך אפים יפתה קצין ולשון רכה תשבר גרם׃ | 15 |
If someone keeps requesting a ruler long enough to do something, he will [often] agree to do it; similarly, by speaking [MTY] gently we can [often] convince [others that what we say is right] [IDM].
| דבש מצאת אכל דיך פן תשבענו והקאתו׃ | 16 |
If you find some honey, do not eat a lot of it, because doing that may cause you to vomit.
| הקר רגלך מבית רעך פן ישבעך ושנאך׃ | 17 |
Do not go to your neighbor’s house very often [to talk with him]; if you go [very] often, he will get tired of listening to you and start to hate you.
| מפיץ וחרב וחץ שנון איש ענה ברעהו עד שקר׃ | 18 |
To falsely accuse others [in court] is like [SIM] [attacking them with] a war-club or a sword or a sharp arrow.
| שן רעה ורגל מועדת מבטח בוגד ביום צרה׃ | 19 |
Depending on unreliable people when you have troubles is [as bad] as [trying to eat when] you have a bad/hurting tooth or [trying to walk when] your foot is crippled.
| מעדה בגד ביום קרה חמץ על נתר ושר בשרים על לב רע׃ | 20 |
Singing to someone who is depressed [just causes him to feel worse]; it is like [SIM] taking off clothes on a very cold day or like putting vinegar on a wound.
| אם רעב שנאך האכלהו לחם ואם צמא השקהו מים׃ | 21 |
If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;
| כי גחלים אתה חתה על ראשו ויהוה ישלם לך׃ | 22 |
doing that will cause them to feel ashamed [IDM], and Yahweh will reward you for doing that.
| רוח צפון תחולל גשם ופנים נזעמים לשון סתר׃ | 23 |
When wind blows from the right direction, it will rain; [similarly] [SIM], if we gossip about others, that causes them to look at us very angrily.
| טוב שבת על פנת גג מאשת מדונים ובית חבר׃ | 24 |
It is better to live ([alone/by yourself]) in the corner of an attic/housetop than to live inside the house with a wife who is [always] nagging.
| מים קרים על נפש עיפה ושמועה טובה מארץ מרחק׃ | 25 |
Receiving good news from a country far away refreshes our spirits like [SIM] cold water refreshes us when we are very thirsty.
| מעין נרפש ומקור משחת צדיק מט לפני רשע׃ | 26 |
When a righteous/good person (gives in/yields) to wicked [people], that is [as bad] as [SIM] a spring that becomes muddied or a fountain that becomes polluted.
| אכל דבש הרבות לא טוב וחקר כבדם כבוד׃ | 27 |
It is not good to eat too much honey, and trying to get people to praise you is also not good.
| עיר פרוצה אין חומה איש אשר אין מעצר לרוחו׃ | 28 |
People who (cannot control their tempers/quickly become very angry) [are unable to defend their behavior]; that is like [having] a city without a wall around it, [with the result that no one can defend it].
