Proverbiorum 20
1 luxuriosa res vinum et tumultuosa ebrietas quicumque his delectatur non erit sapiens
Drinking a lot of wine or [other] strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.
2 sicut rugitus leonis ita terror regis qui provocat eum peccat in animam suam
Being afraid of a king when he is angry is like [SIM] being afraid of a lion when it growls/roars; if you cause the king to become angry, he may execute you.
3 honor est homini qui separat se a contentionibus omnes autem stulti miscentur contumeliis
[People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
4 propter frigus piger arare noluit mendicabit ergo aestate et non dabitur ei
[If] a lazy man does not plow [his fields at the right/proper time], he will look for [crops] at harvest [time], but there will be nothing there.
5 sicut aqua profunda sic consilium in corde viri sed homo sapiens exhauriet illud
[Just] as it is difficult to bring up water from a deep well, it is difficult to know what people are thinking, but someone who has good sense/insight will be able to find out what people are thinking.
6 multi homines misericordes vocantur virum autem fidelem quis inveniet
Many people proclaim that they can be trusted [to do what they say that they will do], but it is very difficult to find [RHQ] someone who can really be trusted.
7 iustus qui ambulat in simplicitate sua beatos post se filios derelinquet
If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).
8 rex qui sedet in solio iudicii dissipat omne malum intuitu suo
A king who sits on his throne to judge people can [easily] [MTY] find out what things that people have done are good and what things are evil.
9 quis potest dicere mundum est cor meum purus sum a peccato
There is no one [RHQ] who can truthfully say, “I do not know of any wrong things that I have done; I have (gotten rid of all my sinful behavior/quit doing what is sinful).”
10 pondus et pondus mensura et mensura utrumque abominabile est apud Deum
Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
11 ex studiis suis intellegitur puer si munda et si recta sint opera eius
Even children show by what they do whether they are good or not; they show whether (what they do/their behavior) is honest and right [or not].
12 aurem audientem et oculum videntem Dominus fecit utrumque
Two of the things that Yahweh has created [for us] are ears to hear things and eyes to see things.
13 noli diligere somnum ne te egestas opprimat aperi oculos tuos et saturare panibus
If you want to sleep [all the time], you will become poor; if you stay awake [and work], you will have plenty of food.
14 malum est malum est dicit omnis emptor et cum recesserit tunc gloriabitur
People [look at things that they are about] to buy, [and in order to get it for a lower price sometimes they] say, “(It is no good/It is poor quality),” but [after they buy it], they go and boast [about having bought it for a cheap price].
15 est aurum et multitudo gemmarum vas autem pretiosum labia scientiae
Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
16 tolle vestimentum eius qui fideiussor extitit alieni et pro extraneis aufer pignus ab eo
If you foolishly promise to a stranger that you will pay what he owes if he is unable to pay it [DOU], [you deserve to] have someone take your coat from you.
17 suavis est homini panis mendacii et postea implebitur os eius calculo
People [may] think that food that they acquire by doing what is dishonest will taste very good, but later [they will not enjoy what they have done any more than they would enjoy] eating gravel/sand.
18 cogitationes consiliis roborantur et gubernaculis tractanda sunt bella
When people give you good advice, [if you do what they suggest], your plans will succeed; so be sure to get good advice from wise people before you start fighting a war.
19 ei qui revelat mysteria et ambulat fraudulenter et dilatat labia sua ne commiscearis
Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].
20 qui maledicit patri suo et matri extinguetur lucerna eius in mediis tenebris
If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.
21 hereditas ad quam festinatur in principio in novissimo benedictione carebit
If you very quickly take the property that your parents promise will be yours after they die, you will not receive any good/blessing from it.
22 ne dicas reddam malum expecta Dominum et liberabit te
Do not say, “I will do evil to those who do evil to me;” wait for Yahweh [to do something about it], and he will (help you/[do what is right]).
23 abominatio est apud Deum pondus et pondus statera dolosa non est bona
Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.
24 a Domino diriguntur gressus viri quis autem hominum intellegere potest viam suam
Yahweh is the one who has decided what will happen to us, so (how can we (understand/know) what will happen before it happens?/we humans certainly cannot (understand/know) what will happen before it happens.) [RHQ]
25 ruina est hominis devorare sanctos et post vota tractare
You should think carefully before you solemnly promise to dedicate something to God, because later you might be sorry you have promised to do it.
26 dissipat impios rex sapiens et curvat super eos fornicem
Wise kings find out [MET] which people have done what is wrong, and they punish them very severely [IDM].
27 lucerna Domini spiraculum hominis quae investigat omnia secreta ventris
Our consciences are [like] lamps that Yahweh [has given to us to enable us to know what we are thinking] [MET]; they reveal what is hidden deep in our (minds/inner beings).
28 misericordia et veritas custodiunt regem et roboratur clementia thronus eius
Kings will continue to rule as long as they faithfully love their people and are loyal to them and as long as they rule righteously/fairly.
29 exultatio iuvenum fortitudo eorum et dignitas senum canities
We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.
30 livor vulneris absterget mala et plagae in secretioribus ventris
When we are beaten or whipped, it [can] cause us to quit doing what is evil in our lives; when someone wounds us [by punishing us], it [can] cause our behavior to become good.
