1Do not envy evil people;
2because they are constantly thinking about acting violently,
3People make good houses (OR, families) by doing what is wise,
4By using good sense, they are able to buy valuable and beautiful things and put them in the rooms of their houses.
5Being wise is better than being strong/powerful;
6Leaders can fight battles if they have wise advisors,
7Foolish people cannot understand wise sayings/talk;
8Those who are always planning to do evil things will be called troublemakers.
9It is sinful to plan to do foolish things,
10If you act as though you are helpless when you have troubles,
11If it is unjustly decided that someone must be executed, try hard to rescue them [DOU].
12If you say, “I did not know anything about it, so ◄it is not my concern/I did not try to help him►,”
13My child/son, eat honey, because it is good for you;
14Similarly, being wise is good for your soul;
15Do not be like wicked people who hide and wait to break into the houses of righteous/good people
16Even if good people fall down seven/many times,
17Do not be happy when something bad happens to one of your enemies;
18because Yahweh will know what you are thinking, and he will not like it,
19Do not become angry/upset about those who do what is evil,
20because nothing good will happen to wicked people;
21My child/son, revere Yahweh and also honor the king,
22because those people will suddenly experience disasters;
23Here are more things that wise people have said:
24If they say to people who are guilty, “You ◄are innocent/have not done something that is wrong►,”
25but if judges say that guilty people must be punished,
26Those who answer others honestly show that they are truly their friends [IDM].
27First, do the work that needs to be done outside your house,
28In the courtroom do not testify against someone when you have no reason to do that,
29Do not say, “I will do to him what he did to me;
30One day I walked by the vineyards of a lazy man,
31I was surprised to see that the fields were full of all kinds of thorny bushes,
32When I saw that, I thought about it, and I learned this:
33If you spend a lot of time sleeping and napping and folding your hands while you rest,
34soon you will become poor;