12
1 Those who want to know what is right to do want to be corrected when they do what is wrong;it is foolish to not want to be corrected.
2 Yahweh is pleased with good people,
but he condemns those who plan to harm others.
3 People do not become safe by doing what is wicked;
righteous people will be very safe and secure like a tree that has deep roots.
4 A good wife is one who causes her husband to be greatly honored,
but a wife who does things that cause her husband to be ashamed will destroy him like cancer destroys his bones.
5 What righteous people want to do is to treat people fairly;
what wicked people want to do is to deceive people.
6 What wicked people say is like a trap that kills people who pass by,
but what righteous people say rescues those whom wicked people threaten to harm.
7 Wicked people will die before they become old and we will see them no more,
but righteous people will live for many years and have many descendants.
8 People will praise those who have good sense,
but people will despise those whose thinking is twisted.
9 It is better to be an ordinary person who has only one servant
than to think that you are very important while you have nothing to eat.
10 Righteous people take care of their domestic animals,
but wicked people act cruelly toward their animals.
11 Farmers who work hard in their fields will produce good crops that will give them plenty to eat,
but those who waste their time working on worthless projects are foolish.
12 Wicked people desire to take away what other evil people have,
but Yahweh enables righteous people to be steadfast and productive.
13 Evil people are trapped by the evil things that they say,
but righteous people escape from trouble.
14 People are rewarded for the good things that they say to others,
and people are also rewarded for the good work that they do.
15 Foolish people always think that what they are doing is right;
wise people heed other people when they give them good advice.
16 When someone does something that foolish people do not like, they quickly become angry;
but those who have good sense ignore it when others insult them.
17 In the courtroom, honest people say what is true,
but untruthful people tell nothing but lies.
18 What some people say hurts people badly, as much as a sword can;
but what wise people say heals others' souls.
19 When people tell lies, others soon realize that what they said is not true;
but when people say what is true, others know forever that what they said is true.
20 Those who plan to do what is evil are always wanting in their inner beings to deceive others,
but things will go well for those who plan to do good things.
21 Bad things usually do not happen to righteous people,
but wicked people always have troubles.
22 Yahweh detests those who tell lies,
but he is delighted with those who faithfully do what they promise that they will do.
23 Those with good sense do not reveal all that they know;
foolish people show clearly by what they say that they have not learned much.
24 Those who work hard become rulers of others;
those who are lazy become others' slaves.
25 When people are worried, they become depressed,
but when others speak kindly to them, it causes them to be cheerful again.
26 Righteous people try to give good advice to their friends (OR, try to make friends with others),
but the manner in which wicked people live misleads them.
27 Lazy people do not even cook the meat of the animals that they catch, but those who work hard will acquire (OR, are like) a valuable treasure.
28 Those who live righteously are walking on the road to a long life;
they will not die when they are still young.