Poetry

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1 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
than a house full of feasting, with strife.

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet,
Than a feast in the house of feuding and riot,
For it is not a happy home or life,
When it is a place of continuous strife.

2 A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son,
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

Wise is that servant who when all's said and done,
Is of greater service to the family than the rebel son.
He will with the brothers an inheritance share,
And will be treated like a son with loving care.

3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but the LORD tests the heart.

Everything in life needs to be tested we are told,
The crucible for silver, and the furnace for gold,
And the Lord in testing plays his part,
For he is the tester of the human heart.

4 A wicked man listens to evil lips;
a liar pays attention to a malicious tongue.

A wicked man listens to evil lips;
He loves to hear when others make slips.
The liar pay attention to a tongue that is malicious,
For he delights in hearing evil that to him is delicious.

5 He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker;
whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

He who mocks the poor man as through life he does plod,
Is showing contempt, not just for him, but also for God.
And the man who will gloat over another man's disaster
Will arrive at his judgment day a great deal faster.

6 Children's children are a crown to the aged,
and parents are the pride of their children.

Grand children are a treasure when you get old,
They are more precious than it can by words be told,
And their parents look on you with great pride;
They delight that their children are so loved at your side.


7 Arrogant lips are unsuited to a fool—
how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

Arrogant lips are unsuited to a fool—,
And even worse is lying lips to one who will rule.
Getting a fool to learn wisdom you may never teach,
But any man worthy to rule must be truthful in speech.

8 A bribe is a charm to the one who gives it;
wherever he turns, he succeeds.

Here is a fact in every nation and tribe,
You can go a long way with a charm like a bribe,
It opens the door for you to succeed,
Because everywhere you'll find men with greed.

9 He who covers over an offense promotes love,
but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

When an offense you are willing to cover over,
You will be rolling in love's luscious clover,
But when you spread malicious seeds
You will be crying in hate's lonesome weeds.

10 A rebuke impresses a man of discernment
more than a hundred lashes a fool.

A wise man is impressed when he is rebuked,
And even though it hurts like he's been nuked,
He learns rather than burns into ashes;
More than a fool will do with a hundred lashes.

11 An evil man is bent only on rebellion;
a merciless official will be sent against him.

An evil man on rebellion is bent,
So an unmerciful official will to him be sent,
For he will all guidance and advice rebuff,
So there is no choice but to treat him rough.

12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than a fool in his folly.

Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs,
Even if you come away with a few stubs,
Than to a fool in his folly confront,
For he will reduce you to less than a runt.

13 If a man pays back evil for good,
evil will never leave his house.

If a man pays back evil for good,
He is doing what no man ever should,
And evil will never leave his house,
For he is lower than the lowliest louse.

14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
And you will be the first to be caught in the jam,
Don't be so stupid! Can you hear me shout!
Just drop the matter before a dispute breaks out!

15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—
the LORD detests them both.

There are two things on which all will agree,
It's wrong to punish the innocent, and let the guilty go free.
The Lord hates it when either is done,
For both are detestable anywhere under the sun.


16 Of what use is money in the hand of a fool,
since he has no desire to get wisdom?

It is foolish to hand money to a fool,
For he will never use it to go to school,
For to get wisdom he cares not to try,
And wisdom is a value that money can't buy.

17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.

A friend loves at all time, and not once in awhile,
For that is his nature, and that is his style.
He is like a brother who for adversity is born;
He will always come running when you sound the horn.

18 A man lacking in judgment strikes hands in pledge
and puts up security for his neighbor.

A man lacking judgment is not necessarily a heal,
But he has no common sense in making a deal.
He puts up security, and strikes a pledge with his hands,
And gets bound legally in ways nobody fully understands.

19 He who loves a quarrel loves sin;
he who builds a high gate invites destruction.

Here is where a quarrel does really begin;
It is in the heart of one who loves sin.
He who builds a high gate is saying stay away,
But those outside are saying, I will make him pay.
Shutting people out makes them all the more
Want to crash the place, and break down the door.

20 A man of perverse heart does not prosper;
he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.

When the heart is perverse,
The whole life is a curse.
He whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.
For his lies will be discovered, and burst his bubble.


21 To have a fool for a son brings grief;
there is no joy for the father of a fool.

The one thing in life that never is cool,
Is to have a son who is just a fool.
A father is so delighted when he has a boy,
But when that boy turns a fool it is the end of joy.

22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

It is good for your health to have a cheerful heart,
But a crushed spirit will cause good health to part.
A cheerful heart is like happy musical tones,
But the sad heart will just dry up the bones.

23 A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret
to pervert the course of justice.

A wicked man is so greedy inside,
He is always secretly open to a bribe.
The course of justice he will gladly pervert
If it enhances his life with extra dessert.

24 A discerning man keeps wisdom in view,
but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

A discerning man keeps wisdom in view,
This is something we must always review,
For the fool's eyes wander all over the place,
And they end up flat on their face.

25 A foolish son brings grief to his father
and bitterness to the one who bore him.

It is almost beyond belief
How much a fool can bring such grief,
To both his father and his mother,
And likely also to many another.

26 It is not good to punish an innocent man,
or to flog officials for their integrity.

It is not good to punish an innocent man,
Who is just doing the very best that he can,
And to give an honest official a floggin
Means someone has a screw loose in the noggin.

27 A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,
and a man of understanding is even-tempered.

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint;
He'll not use them to hurt, or be filled with complaint,
And the man of understanding will not blow his stack,
But will handle tensions with wise words and great tact.

28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent,
and discerning if he holds his tongue.

If a fool shuts his mouth, he will fit in with the guys,
For a tight lipped fool will by his silence seem wise,
And he will seem like a man with some discerning,
If he can just keep that mouth of his from churning,
For when he opens his mouth and churns out words,
He becomes a laughing stock greater than nerds.

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