Poetry

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1 An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends;
he defies all sound judgment.

An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends;
Never is it known that to sound judgment he bends.
His only way is his way,
And that is just how he will stay.

2 A fool finds no pleasure in understanding
but delights in airing his own opinions.

A fool in understanding finds no pleasure,
For his own opinion is his only treasure.
He get no joy with what others are sharing,
He only delights is in his own opinions airing.

3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt,
and with shame comes disgrace.

When wickedness comes it shows contempt for the good,
It mocks all that men do when they do as they should.
Wickedness just leads to shame followed by disgrace,
And evil effects are left all over the place.

4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters,
but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

When men speak, their words are often deep,
And the wisdom you get is just a small peep,
But the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook,
And it opens up to your mind a full look at the book.

5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked
or to deprive the innocent of justice.

Being partial to the wicked is not good,
And it's doing what no one should.
If the innocent of justice you deprive,
You will never to wise living ever arrive.

6 A fool's lips bring him strife,
and his mouth invites a beating.

A fool's lips bring him strife,
And his own tongue adds misery to life.
His foolish mind is always over heating,
And words come out that deserve a beating.

7 A fool's mouth is his undoing,
and his lips are a snare to his soul.

It's a fools mouth that will bring him down,
For everyone will look at him with a frown.
He will seldom reach any worthwhile goal,
For his lips will always be a snare to his soul.

8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to a man's inmost parts.

The words of a gossip are just like tasty food,
And when they are swallowed they change your mood.
They go down deep into your inmost parts,
And produce pride and other evils in men's hearts.

9 One who is slack in his work
is brother to one who destroys.

The one who is slack in his work
Is brother to another who is a jirk.
They seldom build, but always destroy,
So avoid having such men in your employ.

10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
It is a place to flee to for renewing of power.
The righteous choose it for the place to run,
For getting there means the race is won.

11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;
they imagine it an unscalable wall.

The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;
But how they think is just a pathetic pity,
For they are assured it is an unscalable wall,
But fail to see that it might easily fall.

12 Before his downfall a man's heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor.

Before his downfall a man's heart is proud,
Even though he might never be bragging out loud,
But great honor will come to the man of humility,
For his humble life is open for God and man to see.


13 He who answers before listening—
that is his folly and his shame.

If you give answer before you hear the question,
A brain exam might be for you a good suggestion,
For such behavior will only tarnish your name,
And all will see nothing but your folly and shame.

14 A man's spirit sustains him in sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?

A man can handle sickness when his spirit is strong,
But when his spirit is crushed everything goes wrong.
It seems to him there is no one to care,
And everything is so much harder to bear.

15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge;
the ears of the wise seek it out.

The discerning heart endless knowledge acquires,
For his ears are ever listening, and he never tires,
For he wants to know all he possibly can,
And that is what makes a truly wise man.


16 A gift opens the way for the giver
and ushers him into the presence of the great.

For those bearing gifts the door opens wide,
For gift bearing people are always wanted inside.
You can find yourself ushered into anyone's presence,
If you are wise enough to come bearing presents.

17 The first to present his case seems right,
till another comes forward and questions him.

The first one to speak always seems right,
But the next speaker turns his light to night,
For he questions his every point of view,
And now you see the whole issue anew.

18 Casting the lot settles disputes
and keeps strong opponents apart.

Casting the lot settles disputes,
And keeps grown men from acting like brutes.
They leave it to God to settle the matter,
And not go off fighting like a mad hatter.

19 An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city,
and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.

A dear brother who is by you greatly offended,
Will be hard to win back, and get his spirit unbended,
For he is more unyielding that a citadel's barred gates,
And giving in soon or easy is something he just hates.

20 From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled;
with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.

When a man's mouth sows words of good seed,
He will have a harvest of fine fruit, on which to feed.
His life will with abundance be filled,
And he with these crops will always be thrilled.

21 The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

The tongue has the power of life and death,
And it can produce good fruit with every breath.
Those who love what good words can do,
Will eat of its good fruit all of life through.

22 He who finds a wife finds what is good
and receives favor from the LORD.

One of the better finds in life
Is finding yourself a good wife,
For that is like receiving a great reward,
And favor from our wonderful Lord.

23 A poor man pleads for mercy,
but a rich man answers harshly.

A poor man for mercy pleads,
But the rich his plea never heeds.
The rich care just for their own things,
And so with harsh words, he the poor man stings.

24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

A man can have many so-called friends,
But it is a high risk if on them he depends,
But there is a friend who is like no other,
And he will stick closer than your own brother.

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