It's Wise To Be Patient
1It's better to be poor
and live right
than to be a stupid liar.
2Willingness and stupidity
don't go well together.
If you are too eager,
you will miss the road.
3We are ruined
by our own stupidity,
though we blame the Lord.
4The rich have many friends;
the poor have none.
5Dishonest witnesses and liars
won't escape punishment.
6Everyone tries to be friends
of those who can help them.
7If you are poor,
your own relatives reject you,
and your friends are worse.
When you really need them,
they are not there.
8Do yourself a favor
by having good sense—
you will be glad you did.
9Dishonest witnesses and liars
will be destroyed.
10It isn't right for a fool
to live in luxury
or for a slave to rule
in place of a king.
11It's wise to be patient
and show what you are like
by forgiving others.
12An angry king roars
like a lion,
but when a king is pleased,
it's like dew on the crops.
13Foolish children bring disgrace
to their fathers.
A nagging wife goes on and on
like the drip, drip, drip
of the rain.
14You may inherit all you own
from your parents,
but a sensible wife
is a gift from the Lord.
15If you are lazy
and sleep your time away,
you will starve.
16Obey the Lord's teachings
and you will live—
disobey and you will die.
17Caring for the poor
is lending to the Lord,
and you will be well repaid.
18Correct your children
before it's too late;
if you don't punish them,
trouble will come their way.
19People with bad tempers
are always in trouble,
and they need help
over and over again.
20Pay attention to advice
and accept correction,
so you can live sensibly.
21We may make a lot of plans,
but the Lord will do
what he has decided.
22What matters most is loyalty.
It's better to be poor
than to be a liar.
23Showing respect to the Lord
brings true life—
if you do it, you can relax
without fear of danger.
24Some people are too lazy
to lift a hand
to feed themselves.
25Stupid fools learn good sense
by seeing others punished;
a sensible person learns
by being corrected.
26Disgraceful children
rob their father
and chase their mother away.
27If you stop learning,
you will forget
what you already know.
28A lying witness makes fun
of the court system,
and criminals think crime
is really delicious.
29A stupid fool should expect
to be punished.