Soakas 24
1 Nimet sok sin mwet koluk, ac nimet oru kom in kawuk selos.
Do not envy evil people; do not desire to associate with them,
2 Pacl nukewa elos pwapa sulal, ac sramsram lalos mwe na purakak lokoalok.
because they are [constantly] thinking about acting violently, and whenever they speak [MTY], they talk about (causing trouble/hurting someone).
3 Lohm uh musaiyuk fin pwelung lun lalmwetmet ac etauk.
People make good houses (OR, families) by doing what is wise, and they make their houses (OR, families) strong by [heeding] good advice.
4 Acn ma oasr etauk we, infukil uh yunla ke ma saok ac oaskulana.
By using good sense, [they are able to buy] valuable and beautiful things and put them in the rooms of their houses.
5 Wo in lalmwetmet liki na in ku; aok, yohk sripa in etauk liki in fokoko.
Being wise is better than being strong/powerful; those who know [many things can accomplish more] than those who are [very] strong.
6 Kom enenu na in akola akwoya meet liki kom srola ke sie mweun, ac kom fin eis kas in kasru wo puspis na kom ac fah ku in kutangla.
Leaders can fight battles if they have wise advisors, and they win those battles if they have many good advisors.
7 Kas lalmwetmet uh arulana loalla nu sin sie mwet lalfon in kalem kac. Wangin ma el ac ku in fahk ke pacl ac srumunyuk ma yohk sripa uh.
Foolish people cannot understand wise sayings/talk; at public meetings they are not [able to] say anything [that is useful].
8 Kom fin orek pwapa koluk pacl nukewa, ac fah eteyuk kom lah kom sie mwet orek lokoalok.
Those who are [always] planning to do evil things will be called troublemakers.
9 Ma nukewa sie mwet lalfon ac nunkauk in oru uh ac ma na koluk. Mwet uh srunga mwet se ma kwacna aklusrongtenye mwet.
It is sinful to plan to do foolish things, and people hate those who make fun of [everything that is good].
10 Kom fin munasla ke pacl kom sun ma upa, kalmac pa ku lom uh srikla.
If you [act as though] you are helpless when you have troubles, you are [truly very] weak.
11 Nimet alolo in molela sie mwet su akola in anwuki ke sripen nununku sesuwos.
[If it is unjustly decided] that someone must be executed, [try hard to] rescue them [DOU].
12 Sahp kom ac fahk mu kom nikin, a God El etekom ac nunak lom. El ac fah moli nu sum fal nu ke ma kom orala.
If you say, “I did not know anything about it, [so (it is not my concern/I did not try to help him)],” remember that God knows what we have done, and he knows what we were thinking [IDM, RHQ], and he will certainly [RHQ] repay us as we deserve for what we have done or for not doing what we should have done.
13 Tulik nutik, kom in mongo honey, mweyen arulana wo. Oana ke honey emwem in oalum,
My child/son, eat honey, because it is good [for you]; the honey that drips from honeycombs tastes [very] sweet.
14 ouinge lalmwetmet uh wo nu ke ngunum. Kom fin eis lalmwetmet, na moul lom in pacl fahsru ac fah wo.
Similarly, being wise is good for your soul; if you become wise, you will be [happy in] the future, and [God] will certainly [do for you what you are] confidently expecting him to do [LIT].
15 Nimet oana sie mwet koluk su pwapa sulal in pisrala ma lun sie mwet suwohs, ku in eisla lohm sel.
Do not be like wicked people who [hide and] wait to break into the houses of righteous/good [people] and rob/steal things.
16 Finne pus pacl sie mwet suwohs el ikori, el ac sifil tuyak, a mwe ongoiya uh kunausla mwet koluk.
[Even if] good people fall down seven/many times, they [always] stand/get up again, but when a disaster happens to wicked [people], it ruins/destroys them.
17 Nimet engan ke pacl mwet lokoalok lom sun ongoiya uh, ac nimet enganak ke pacl el tukulkul.
Do not be happy when something bad happens to one of your enemies; do not rejoice when he stumbles and falls,
18 LEUM GOD El ac etu lah kom engankin, ac El ac tia lungse; fin ouinge, sahp El ac tia sang kai nu sel.
because Yahweh will know what you are thinking, and he will not like it, and [as a result] he will not punish that enemy of yours.
19 Nimet lela mwet koluk in akfosrngaye kom; ac nimet sok selos,
Do not become angry/upset about those who do what is evil, and do not [SYN] envy them,
20 mweyen wangin finsrak lun sie mwet koluk nu ke pacl fahsru. Wangin ma el akwot nu kac.
because [nothing good] will happen to wicked people; they are [like] a lamp that will soon be extinguished [MET].
21 Tulik nutik, kom in akfulatye LEUM GOD ac sunakin tokosra. Nimet asruoki nu sin mwet su lainulos.
My child/son, revere Yahweh and [also] honor the king, and do not associate with people who want to rebel against either of them,
22 Mwet ouinge uh ac sa na in kunausyukla. Ya kom akilen luman ongoiya ma ku in tuku sin God me ac sin tokosra me?
because those people will suddenly experience disasters; and no one knows [RHQ] what great disasters that God or the king can cause to happen to them.
23 Mwet lalmwetmet uh oayapa fahk ma inge: Tia wo sie mwet nununku in wiwimwet.
Here are more things that wise [people] have said: It is wrong for judges to decide matters unfairly [IDM].
24 El fin sang mwata nu fin mwet se ma suwohs, mwet nukewa ac srungal ac selngawel.
If they say to people who are guilty, “You (are innocent/have not done something that is wrong),” [even] people in other nations will curse and despise them,
25 A kutena mwet nununku su kai mwet oasr mwata, elos fah kapkapak ac mwet uh ac kaksakunulos.
but if judges say that guilty people must be punished, things will go well for those judges, and (they will receive blessings/God will bless them).
26 El su kawuk na pwaye lom el ac topuk kom ke kas pwaye.
Those who answer others honestly show that they are truly their friends [IDM].
27 Akola ima lom ac yukwiya ma kom ac moul kac, na kom fah musai lohm sum ac sou lom.
First, do the work [that needs to be done] outside [your house], and prepare your fields, [and then plant things], and after you finish doing that, build your house.
28 Nimet orek loh lain sie mwet fin wangin mwatal. Nimet fahk kutena ma sutuu kacl.
[In the courtroom] do not testify against someone when you have no reason to do that, and do not [try to] deceive [people] by what you say [MTY].
29 Nimet fahk mu, “Nga ac oru nu sel in oana ke el tuh oru nu sik! Nga ac folokunang pacna ma el oru nu sik!”
Do not say, “I will do to him what he did to me; I will pay him back for [the bad things that] he did to me.”
30 Nga fahsr sasla ke ima in grape lun sie mwet alsrangesr ac lalfon.
One day I walked by the vineyards of a lazy man, a man who did not have good sense.
31 Kupoi ke kokul ac mah kap wel, ac pot ma kuhlasak uh mokukla.
I was surprised to see that the fields were full of all kinds of thorny bushes, and the stone wall [around the garden] had (collapsed/fallen down).
32 Nga liye ma inge ac nunku kac, na pa inge mwe luti nga eis kac:
When I saw that, I thought about it, and I learned this:
33 Farpoeni ac mongla kutu srisrik, eis pacl in motul lom,
[If you spend a lot of time] sleeping and napping and folding your hands while you rest,
34 tusruktu ke kom srakna motul, sukasrup ac fah tuku nu fom oana sie mwet pisrapasr su us mwe anwuk inpaol.
[soon] you will become poor; [it will be as though] [PRS, SIM] a bandit who had a weapon in his hand [attacked you and stole all that you had].
