Lea Fakatātā 25

1 Ko eni foki ʻae ngaahi lea fakatātā ʻa Solomone, ʻaia naʻe hiki ʻe he kau tangata ʻa Hesekaia ko e tuʻi ʻo Siuta.

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].

2 Ko e nāunau ia ʻoe ʻOtua ke fakafufū ha meʻa: ka ko e meʻa ʻe ongoongolelei ai ʻae ngaahi tuʻi ke kumi ke ʻilo ʻae ngaahi meʻa.

[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.

3 Ko e langi ʻi hono māʻolunga, mo e māmani ʻi hono taumamaʻo, mo e loto ʻoe ngaahi tuʻi, ʻoku taʻefaʻaʻiloʻi.

[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.

4 Ke toʻo atu ʻae ʻuli mei he siliva, pea ʻe ngaohi mei ai ha ipu ʻe ia ʻoku ne fakamaʻa siliva.

[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.

5 Ke ʻave ʻae angahala mei he ʻao ʻoe tuʻi, pea ʻe fokotuʻumaʻu ai hono nofoʻa fakaʻeiʻeiki ʻi he māʻoniʻoni.

[Similarly, if] wicked [advisors] are taken away from a king, his government will remain secure, because [the king will be able to] act justly.

6 ‌ʻOua naʻa ke hiki hake koe ʻi he ʻao ʻoe tuʻi, pea ʻoua naʻa ke tuʻu ʻi he potu ʻoe kakai māʻolunga.

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; )

7 He ʻoku lelei hake ke lea ʻo pehē kiate koe, “ʻAlu hake koe ki heni;” ʻi he tuku koe ʻo fakamaʻulalo ʻi he ʻao ʻoe tuʻi kuo ke mamata ki ai.

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].

8 ‌ʻOua naʻa ke ʻalu fakavave atu ke fakakikihi, telia naʻa ʻe ʻikai te ke ʻilo ʻae meʻa ke fai ʻoka ʻosi ia, ʻoka fakamaaʻi koe ʻe ho kaungāʻapi.

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]

9 Ke mo fai toko ua pe hoʻo mo fakakikihi mo ho kaungāʻapi; pea ʻoua naʻa fakahā ha tala fakalilolilo ki ha taha kehe:

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].

10 Telia naʻa fakamaaʻi koe ʻe ia ʻoku fanongo ki ai, pea ʻikai toe foki meiate koe ho ongoongo kovi.

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).

11 Ko e lea ʻoku ngali mo totonu hono leaʻaki, ʻoku hangē ia ko e ʻapele koula ʻi ha ipu siliva.

Something that is said that is [very] appropriate is [as delightful as seeing] [SIM] gold apples/ornaments in a silver bowl.

12 ‌ʻO hangē ko e hau koula mo e teunga ʻoe koula lelei, ʻoku pehē ia ʻaia ʻoku valoki fakapotopoto kiate ia ʻoku telinga ongo.

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.

13 ‌ʻO hangē ko e momoko ʻoe ʻuha hinehina ʻi he lolotonga ʻae ututaʻu, ʻoku pehē ʻae talafekau totonu kiate kinautolu ʻoku nau fekauʻi ia: he ʻoku ne fakafiemālie ʻe ia ki he loto ʻo ʻene houʻeiki.

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.

14 Ko ia ia ʻoku polepole ʻi ha foaki loi, ʻoku hangē ia ko e ngaahi ʻao mo e matangi taʻehanoʻuha.

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.

15 ‌ʻOku fakalotoʻi ʻae tuʻi ʻi he fai fakakukafi, pea ʻoku fesiʻi ʻae hui ʻe he ʻelelo molū.

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].

16 Kuo ke ʻilo ha honi? Kai ai koe ke mākona lelei pe, telia naʻa ke fatufāʻia ai, pea lua ʻaki.

If you find some honey, do not eat a lot of it, because doing that may cause you to vomit.

17 Ke taʻofi ho vaʻe mei he fale ʻo ho kaungāʻapi; telia naʻa fiu ia ʻiate koe, pea fehiʻa ai kiate koe.

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.

18 Ko e tangata ʻoku fakamoʻoni loi ki hono kaungāʻapi, ʻoku hangē ia ko e ʻakau fakapō, mo e heletā, pea mo e ngahau māsila.

To falsely accuse others [in court] is like [SIM] [attacking them with] a war-club or a sword or a sharp arrow.

19 Ko e falala ʻi he tuʻutāmaki ki ha tangata taʻeangatonu, ʻoku hangē ia ko e nifo popo, pe ko e vaʻe kuo tapeva.

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.

20 ‌ʻOku hangē ko e tangata ʻoku toʻo ʻo ʻave ha kofu ʻi he faʻahitaʻu momoko, pea hangē ko e fefiofi ʻae vaimahi mo e naita, ʻoku pehē ʻaia ʻoku hiva ʻaki ʻae ngaahi fasi ki he loto māfasia.

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.

21 Kapau ʻoku fiekaia ho fili, foaki ki ai ʻae mā ke ne kai; pea kapau ʻoku fieinua, foaki kiate ia ʻae vai ke inu:

If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;

22 He te ke hilifaki ai ʻae malalaʻi afi ki hono ʻulu, pea ʻe totongi lelei ʻe Sihova kiate koe.

doing that will cause them to feel ashamed [IDM], and Yahweh will reward you for doing that.

23 ‌ʻOku tupu ʻae ʻuha mei he matangi tokelau; ʻoku pehē foki ʻoku tupu ʻae matalili mei he ʻelelo ʻoe fakakovi.

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.

24 ‌ʻOku lelei hake ʻae nofo ʻi he tuliki ʻi he tuʻa fale, ʻi he nofo mo ha fefine faʻa kē ʻi ha fale ʻoku fuʻu ʻatā.

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.

25 ‌ʻOku hangē ko e vai momoko kiate ia ʻoku fieinua, ʻoku pehē ʻae ongoongolelei mei he fonua mamaʻo.

Receiving good news from a country far away refreshes our spirits like [SIM] cold water refreshes us when we are very thirsty.

26 Ko e hinga ʻae tangata māʻoniʻoni ʻi he ʻao ʻoe kau angahala, ʻoku hangē ia ko e matavai kuo fakangaueue, mo e vaitafe kuo fakaʻuliʻi.

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.

27 ‌ʻOku ʻikai lelei ke kai lahi ʻi he honi: pea pehē, ko e kumi ʻe he kakai honau ongoongolelei ʻonautolu pe ʻoku ʻikai ko e ongoongolelei ia.

It is not good to eat too much honey, and trying to get people to praise you is also not good.

28 Ko ia ia ʻoku ʻikai faʻa puleʻi hono laumālie ʻoʻona, ʻoku tatau ia mo e kolo kuo holoki hifo, pea ʻoku ʻikai hano ʻā.

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].