Honest people serve the Lord
1A wise woman cares for her family,
but a foolish woman destroys her people.
2An honest person respects
and serves the Lord,
but someone who does not do what is right
does not want to worship Him.
3Foolish people boast when they talk,
and they will be punished.
The words of the wise people
will protect them.
4If you don't have oxen to plough your field,
you won't have wheat to put into their crib,
but if you have a strong ox,
you will have a lot of food in your field.
5A witness who always speaks the truth
never tells lies,
but a false_witness tells lies all the time.
6Someone who laughs at wisdom
will never find it,
but a person who understands wisdom
learns easily and gets a lot of knowledge.
7Stay away from a foolish person,
because you will not learn anything from him.
8A wise person understands what to do,
but a foolish person is dishonest.
9Foolish people don't care if they sin,
and they laugh at guilt-offerings,
but God is pleased when people do what is right.
10No one else knows
how sad you are sometimes,
and other people don't know how happy you can be.
11The families of those who do wrong
will not live for a long time,
but the families of honest people
will do well.
12There is a way of life that seems right,
but it is not right, and it leads to death.
13Sometimes a person who is laughing
is sad inside,
and after people have laughed they often cry.
14Bad and sinful people will be punished
for the things they have done wrong
and good people will be rewarded
for their good lives.
15Fools believe anything
that people tell them
but wise people think carefully
before they do something.
16Wise people are careful
and stay away from trouble,
but fools don't care,
and they do something
before they think about it.
17Someone who gets angry very quickly
does things that are foolish,
but a wise man is patient.
18People who don't want to learn
become foolish
but people who want to learn
will get knowledge.
19Bad people will have to bow down
in front of good people.
Sinful people will have to bow down
at the door of people who live in the right way.
Poor and rich people
20No one loves poor people,
not even their own family and neighbours,
but rich people have lots of friends.
21Sinners think their family
and neighbours are not important,
but the Lord will bless those
who help poor people.
22People who make plans to do wrong
don't know what will happen to them.
People who decide to do something good
will get the trust and respect of other people.
23People who work hard
will be rewarded a lot,
but those who just talk and do nothing
will stay poor.
24God rewards wise people
with wisdom, and they become rich,
but the reward of fools
is to become even more foolish.
25A witness who tells the truth
saves people's lives,
but a witness who tells lies
deceives people.
26People who respect the Lord
and serve Him will be safe,
and the Lord will protect them and their children.
27If you respect the Lord and serve Him,
you will have life like a fountain of water.
It will help you to escape
from dangers and it will save you.
28People respect a king
who rules over a big nation,
but someone who rules over only a few people
will not stay king for a long time.
29Someone who does
not become angry quickly is wise,
but someone who gets angry quickly
shows everyone that he is a fool.
30A person who thinks
about things calmly stays healthy,
but someone who is jealous
will become sick.
31Someone who oppresses a poor man
does not respect the Lord
who has made that poor man.
Someone who is good to poor people
honours the Lord.
32The sinful things
that a bad person does destroy him,
but people who live in the right way
know that God protects them,
even when they die.
33Wisdom lives in the hearts of good people,
but fools know nothing about wisdom.
34If a nation does what the Lord wants,
they will become great, but if they are sinful,
they will become ashamed.
35A king is pleased with a wise servant,
but he becomes angry
when a servant does not do his work.
