Pregovori 26
1 Kakor sneg poleti in kakor dež ob času žetve, tako se čast ne poda bedaku.
Like snow in summer and rain when the grain is being cut, so honour is not natural for the foolish.
2 Kakor ptica s potepanjem, kakor lastovka z letenjem, tako prekletstvo brez razloga ne bo prišlo.
As the sparrow in her wandering and the swallow in her flight, so the curse does not come without a cause.
3 Bič za konja, uzda za osla in palica za hrbet bedaka.
A whip for the horse, a mouth-bit for the ass, and a rod for the back of the foolish.
4 Bedaku ne odgovori glede na njegovo neumnost, da ne bi bil tudi ti podoben njemu.
Do not give to the foolish man a foolish answer, or you will be like him.
5 Odgovori bedaku glede na njegovo neumnost, da on ne bi bil moder v svoji lastni domišljavosti.
Give a foolish man a foolish answer, or he will seem wise to himself.
6 Kdor pošilja sporočilo po roki bedaka, si odseka stopala in pije škodo.
He who sends news by the hand of a foolish man is cutting off his feet and drinking in damage.
7 Nogi hromega nista enaki; takšna je prispodoba v ustih bedakov.
The legs of one who has no power of walking are hanging loose; so is a wise saying in the mouth of the foolish.
8 Kakor kdor poveže kamen v pračo, tak je, kdor daje čast bedaku.
Giving honour to a foolish man is like attempting to keep a stone fixed in a cord.
9 Kakor gre trn v roko pijanca, taka je prispodoba v ustih bedakov.
Like a thorn which goes up into the hand of a man overcome by drink, so is a wise saying in the mouth of a foolish man.
10 Velik Bog, ki je ustvaril vse stvari, nagrajuje tako bedaka kakor prestopnike.
Like an archer wounding all who go by, is a foolish man overcome by drink.
11 Kakor se pes vrača k svojemu izbljuvku, tako se bedak vrača k svoji neumnosti.
Like a dog going back to the food which he has not been able to keep down, is the foolish man doing his foolish acts over again.
12 Ali vidiš modrega človeka v njegovi lastni domišljavosti? Več upanja je za bedaka kakor zanj.
Have you seen a man who seems to himself to be wise? There is more hope for the foolish than for him.
13 Len človek pravi: » Tam je lev na poti, lev je na ulicah.«
The hater of work says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
14 Kakor se vrata obračajo na svojih tečajih, tako se leni na svoji postelji.
A door is turned on its pillar, and the hater of work on his bed.
15 Leni skriva svojo roko v svojem naročju, žalosti ga, da jo ponovno prinese k svojim ustom.
The hater of work puts his hand deep into the basin: lifting it again to his mouth is a weariness to him.
16 Lenuh je modrejši v svoji lastni domišljavosti, kakor sedem mož, ki lahko izkažejo razlog.
The hater of work seems to himself wiser than seven men who are able to give an answer with good sense.
17 Kdor gre mimo in se vmešava v prepir, ki mu ne pripada, je podoben tistemu, ki psa zgrabi za ušesa.
He who gets mixed up in a fight which is not his business, is like one who takes a dog by the ears while it is going by.
18 Kakor zmešan človek, ki meče kose tlečega lesa, puščice in smrt,
As one who is off his head sends about flaming sticks and arrows of death,
19 tak je človek, ki zavaja svojega bližnjega in pravi: »Ali nisem na zabavi?«
So is the man who gets the better of his neighbour by deceit, and says, Am I not doing so in sport?
20 Kjer ni nobenega lesa, tam ogenj poide. Tako, kjer ni tožljivca, prepir preneha.
Without wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no secret talk, argument is ended.
21 Kakor je oglje za vročo žerjavico in drva za ogenj, tako je prepirljiv človek za podžiganje prepira.
Like breath on coals and wood on fire, so a man given to argument gets a fight started.
22 Besede tožljivca so kakor rane in gredo navzdol v najnotranjejše dele trebuha.
The words of one who says evil of his neighbour secretly are like sweet food, they go down into the inner parts of the stomach.
23 Goreče ustnice in zlobno srce sta podobna črepinji, pokriti s srebrovo žlindro.
Smooth lips and an evil heart are like a vessel of earth plated with silver waste.
24 Kdor sovraži, prikriva s svojimi ustnicami in znotraj sebe shranjuje prevaro;
With his lips the hater makes things seem what they are not, but deceit is stored up inside him;
25 kadar govori lepo, mu ne verjemi, kajti sedem ogabnosti je v njegovem srcu.
When he says fair words, have no belief in him; for in his heart are seven evils:
26 Čigar sovraštvo je pokrito s prevaro, bo njegova zlobnost razkazana pred celotno skupnostjo.
Though his hate is covered with deceit, his sin will be seen openly before the meeting of the people.
27 Kdorkoli koplje jamo, bo padel vanjo, in kdor vali kamen, se bo le-ta vrnil nadenj.
He who makes a hole in the earth will himself go falling into it: and on him by whom a stone is rolled the stone will come back again.
28 Lažniv jezik sovraži tiste, ki so prizadeti z njim in prilizovanje ust dela propad.
A false tongue has hate for those who have clean hearts, and a smooth mouth is a cause of falling.
