The Lord hates people who cheat
1When people have had too much wine to drink,
they become foolish and want to fight.
It is not wise to get drunk and do wrong.
2People should be afraid
of an angry king,
like they are of a lion that roars.
If you make the king angry,
you can lose your life.
3People respect someone
who never wants to fight,
but fools always want to argue and fight.
4A lazy person does not plough
his field when it is time to do it,
and when it is time to harvest,
he looks for wheat to cut,
but there is nothing.
5The things that someone thinks about
can be very deep, like water in a well,
and it is not easy to know what he thinks,
but a wise person understands what he says.
6There are many people who say:
‘You can trust me.’
But only a few of them do what they promise.
7Good people live in the right way and are honest.
God blesses their children
who live like they do.
8When a king sits on his throne
to judge people,
he can see everything that is wrong.
9No one can say: ‘I am innocent,
and I have never done anything sinful.’
10The Lord hates people
who cheat when they measure
or weigh things.
11You can see what a child is like
when you look at what he does.
The things he does
show if he is good or bad.
12The Lord has given some people
ears to hear and eyes to see.
They must use them to listen and look.
13If you don't want to be poor,
you must not sleep all day.
If you get up early to work,
you will have enough food to eat.
14A person who wants
to buy something says:
‘This is no good.’
But when he goes away,
he is very pleased with what he bought.
15Gold and gemstones are precious,
but the words of someone who is wise
are even more precious.
16If you have promised to pay
the debt of a man that you don't know,
you must take his coat
and keep it until he pays
what he owes you.
17If you have cheated someone
to get food,
it will taste good in the beginning,
but later it will feel
like you are chewing stones.
18If you get good advice
before you do something,
your plans will work.
If you want to start a war,
ask for the advice of wise advisors.
19Someone who gossips about people
says things that other people
should not know.
Don't be friends with someone
who does not care what he says.
20If anyone curses his parents,
he will be like a lamp that goes out and dies.
21If someone gets money
that he inherited too quickly,
when he is too young,
it will not help him at all.
22When someone has done bad things to you,
don't say you will also do bad things
to him. Wait for the Lord.
He will do what is right.
23The Lord hates people
who cheat when they weigh things
and are dishonest
when they use balance-scales.
24No person knows
what will happen to him.
It is the Lord who decides
what will happen to us.
25If someone consecrates something
to the Lord but only later
thinks of what he has promised,
he will be like an animal
that falls into a trap.
26A king who is wise can find out
who is guilty and punish those
who have done wrong.
27The spirit of a person is like a lamp.
The Lord gives light
to look inside a person at everything
that he thinks and does.
28If a king does what he has promised
and he is faithful to his people,
he is safe and will rule for a long time.
29Young men are beautiful
because they are strong,
and old people are beautiful
because they have grey hair.
30If you punish someone by hitting him,
he will stop doing sinful things.
If you beat him, he will not
think of those bad things again.
