27
1 Do not boast about what you will do tomorrow,
because you do not know what will happen [PRS] on any day.
2 Do not praise yourself [MTY, PRS]; allow others to praise you.
If someone else praises you, that is okay.
3 It causes pain to our bodies to carry heavy stones or a pail full of sand,
but doing something stupid/foolish can cause great pain to other people’s spirits.
4 It is cruel to be angry with others, and our being angry sometimes destroys others,
but being jealous of someone is [RHQ] often more cruel than that.
5 It is better to correct someone openly
than to show that you l don’t love that person by not correcting him.
6 If a friend criticizes you, he is a good friend and you can trust him;
but if one of your enemies kisses you, he is probably wanting to deceive you.
7 When someone’s stomach is full, he does not want to eat honey;
but when someone is very hungry, he thinks that even bitter things taste sweet.
8 Anyone who wanders far from his home/family
is like [SIM] a bird that is far from its nest.
9 Putting olive oil and perfume on a person’s skin causes him to feel good,
but having a friend who gives good advice is even better.
10 Do not neglect your friends or your parents’ friends;
and at a time when you are experiencing a disaster, do not go to a relative who lives far away to request his help;
someone who lives near you can help you more than relatives who live far away.
11 My child/son, cause me to be happy by becoming wise,
in order that I will know how to reply to those who would criticize me about your behavior.
12 Those who have good sense will realize that there is something dangerous ahead, and they will hide;
those who do not have good sense just keep going, and later they will suffer because of doing that.
13 You deserve to have your property taken from you
if you foolishly promise to a stranger (OR, a strange woman) that you will pay what she owes if she is unable to pay it [DOU].
14 If you rise early in the morning and call out a greeting to your neighbor while he is still sleeping,
he will consider it to be a curse, not a blessing.
15 Having a wife that is constantly nagging
is as bad as listening to rain continually dripping on a rainy day.
16 Trying to restrain/stop her from doing that is as difficult [SIM] as trying to stop the wind
or trying to hold oil in your hand.
17 We can use one iron tool to sharpen another iron tool;
similarly [SIM], when one person shares what he is thinking, it can help other people to think more clearly.
18 Those who take care of fig trees will have figs to eat;
similarly, servants who protect their master will be honored by him.
19 When a person looks in the water, he sees his own face;
similarly [SIM], when we look at a person’s behavior, we know what he is thinking.
20 It is as though the place where the dead people are is always wanting more people to die and come there;
and humans [SYN] are always wanting to acquire more things, too.
21 Workers put silver and gold in a very hot furnace to burn out what is impure,
and [SIM] people learn what we are really like when they see how we react when people praise us.
22 Even if you beat/crush a fool severely like [MET] you pulverize grain with a pestle,
you probably will not be able to cause him to stop ◄being foolish/doing foolish things►.
23 Take good care of your flocks of sheep
and herds of cattle,
24 because the money that you acquired from selling animals previously will not ◄last/stay with you► forever;
similarly [SIM], governments [MTY] certainly do not [RHQ] last forever.
25 After you cut the hay [DOU] and store it to feed the animals in the winter while a new crop of hay is growing,
26 you will be able to shear the sheep and make clothes from the wool,
and you will get money from selling some of the goats to buy more land,
27 and you will get enough milk from the other goats
for you and your family and your female servants.