Proverbiorum 24
1 Ne æmuleris viros malos, nec desideres esse cum eis:
Do not envy evil people; do not desire to associate with them,
2 quia rapinas meditatur mens eorum, et fraudes labia eorum loquuntur.
because they are [constantly] thinking about acting violently, and whenever they speak [MTY], they talk about (causing trouble/hurting someone).
3 Sapientia ædificabitur domus, et prudentia roborabitur.
People make good houses (OR, families) by doing what is wise, and they make their houses (OR, families) strong by [heeding] good advice.
4 In doctrina replebuntur cellaria, universa substantia pretiosa et pulcherrima.
By using good sense, [they are able to buy] valuable and beautiful things and put them in the rooms of their houses.
5 Vir sapiens fortis est, et vir doctus robustus et validus:
Being wise is better than being strong/powerful; those who know [many things can accomplish more] than those who are [very] strong.
6 quia cum dispositione initur bellum, et erit salus ubi multa consilia sunt.
Leaders can fight battles if they have wise advisors, and they win those battles if they have many good advisors.
7 Excelsa stulto sapientia; in porta non aperiet os suum.
Foolish people cannot understand wise sayings/talk; at public meetings they are not [able to] say anything [that is useful].
8 Qui cogitat mala facere stultus vocabitur:
Those who are [always] planning to do evil things will be called troublemakers.
9 cogitatio stulti peccatum est, et abominatio hominum detractor.
It is sinful to plan to do foolish things, and people hate those who make fun of [everything that is good].
10 Si desperaveris lassus in die angustiæ, imminuetur fortitudo tua.
If you [act as though] you are helpless when you have troubles, you are [truly very] weak.
11 Erue eos qui ducuntur ad mortem, et qui trahuntur ad interitum, liberare ne cesses.
[If it is unjustly decided] that someone must be executed, [try hard to] rescue them [DOU].
12 Si dixeris: Vires non suppetunt; qui inspector est cordis ipse intelligit: et servatorem animæ tuæ nihil fallit, reddetque homini juxta opera sua.
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 Comede, fili mi, mel, quia bonum est, et favum dulcissimum gutturi tuo.
My child/son, eat honey, because it is good [for you]; the honey that drips from honeycombs tastes [very] sweet.
14 Sic et doctrina sapientiæ animæ tuæ: quam cum inveneris, habebis in novissimis spem, et spes tua non peribit.
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 Ne insidieris, et quæras impietatem in domo justi, neque vastes requiem ejus.
Do not be like wicked people who [hide and] wait to break into the houses of righteous/good [people] and rob/steal things.
16 Septies enim cadet justus, et resurget: impii autem corruent in malum.
[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 Cum ceciderit inimicus tuus ne gaudeas, et in ruina ejus ne exsultet cor tuum:
Do not be happy when something bad happens to one of your enemies; do not rejoice when he stumbles and falls,
18 ne forte videat Dominus, et displiceat ei, et auferat ab eo iram suam.
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 Ne contendas cum pessimis, nec æmuleris impios:
Do not become angry/upset about those who do what is evil, and do not [SYN] envy them,
20 quoniam non habent futurorum spem mali, et lucerna impiorum extinguetur.
because [nothing good] will happen to wicked people; they are [like] a lamp that will soon be extinguished [MET].
21 Time Dominum, fili mi, et regem, et cum detractoribus non commiscearis:
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 quoniam repente consurget perditio eorum, et ruinam utriusque quis novit?
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 Hæc quoque sapientibus. Cognoscere personam in judicio non est bonum.
Here are more things that wise [people] have said: It is wrong for judges to decide matters unfairly [IDM].
24 Qui dicunt impio: Justus es: maledicent eis populi, et detestabuntur eos tribus.
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 Qui arguunt eum laudabuntur, et super ipsos veniet benedictio.
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 Labia deosculabitur qui recta verba respondet.
Those who answer others honestly show that they are truly their friends [IDM].
27 Præpara foris opus tuum, et diligenter exerce agrum tuum, ut postea ædifices domum tuam.
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 Ne sis testis frustra contra proximum tuum, nec lactes quemquam labiis tuis.
[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 Ne dicas: Quomodo fecit mihi, sic faciam ei; reddam unicuique secundum opus suum.
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 Per agrum hominis pigri transivi, et per vineam viri stulti:
One day I walked by the vineyards of a lazy man, a man who did not have good sense.
31 et ecce totum repleverant urticæ, et operuerant superficiem ejus spinæ, et maceria lapidum destructa erat.
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 Quod cum vidissem, posui in corde meo, et exemplo didici disciplinam.
When I saw that, I thought about it, and I learned this:
33 Parum, inquam, dormies, modicum dormitabis; pauxillum manus conseres ut quiescas:
[If you spend a lot of time] sleeping and napping and folding your hands while you rest,
34 et veniet tibi quasi cursor egestas, et mendicitas quasi vir armatus.
[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].
