Soakas 27
1 Nimet konkin ke ma kom ako in oru lutu, mweyen kom tia etu lah mea ac sikyak ingela.
Do not boast about [what you will do] tomorrow, because you do not know what will happen [PRS] on any day.
2 Lela mwet ngia in kaksakin kom — finne sie mwet kom tia etu. Nimet sifacna kaksakin kom.
Do not praise yourself [MTY, PRS]; allow others to praise you. If someone else praises you, that is okay.
3 Toasr lun eot ac puk uh tia ku in lumweyuk nu ke toasr lun mwe lokoalok ma sie mwet lalfon el sripauk.
[It causes pain to our bodies to carry heavy] stones or [a pail full of] sand, but doing something stupid/foolish [can cause] great [pain to other people’s spirits.]
4 Kasrkusrak el sulallal ac orala ongoiya lulap, tusruktu tia apkuran nu ke lemta!
It is cruel to be angry [with others], and our being angry sometimes destroys [others], but being jealous of someone is [RHQ] often more cruel than that.
5 Wo in aksuwosye sie mwet lemtulauk, liki na in fuhlela elan nunku mu wangin nunak lom kacl.
It is better to correct someone openly than to show that you l don’t love that person [by not correcting him].
6 Sie mwet kawuk el nunak pwaye nu sum el finne kai kom, a kom in taran sie mwet lokoalok su akukula nu sum.
If a friend criticizes you, [he is a good friend and] you can trust him; but if one of your enemies kisses you, he is [probably wanting to] deceive you.
7 Pacl se kom kihpi uh kom ac srunga kang honey, tusruktu pacl kom masrinsral, finne mongo mukol ac emwem sum.
When someone’s stomach is full, he does not want to eat honey; but when someone is [very] hungry, he thinks that [even] bitter things taste sweet.
8 Sie mwet su muta loes liki acn sel oana sie won ma som loes liki ahng lal.
Anyone who wanders [far] from his home/family is like [SIM] a bird that is far from its nest.
9 Ono keng ac mwe akmusra keng uh mwe akinsewowoye kom, a mwe lokoalok uh kunausla inse misla lom.
[Putting olive] oil and perfume on a person’s skin causes him to feel good, but having a friend [who gives] good advice [is even better].
10 Nimet mulkunla mwet kawuk lom ku kawuk lun papa tomom. Kom fin sun ongoiya, nimet siyuk tamulel lom in kasrekom; sie mwet tulan su muta apkuran nu yurum ku in kasrekom liki sie tamulel su muta loesla.
Do not neglect your friends or your parents’ friends; and at a time when you are experiencing a disaster, do not go to a relative [who lives far away to request his help]; someone who lives near you can help you more than relatives who live far away.
11 Tulik nutik, kom in lalmwetmet ac nga fah arulana engan; nga fah ku in topuk mwet nukewa su akkolukyeyu.
My child/son, cause me to be happy by becoming wise, in order that I will [know how to] reply to those who would criticize me [about your behavior].
12 Ke pacl se mwe lokoalok tuku, mwet etu elos ac fahsr liki; a sie mwet wangin nunak la ac fahsryang nu kac, na toko el auli.
Those who have good sense will realize that there is something dangerous ahead, and they will hide; those who do not have good sense [just] keep going, and later they will suffer because of [doing] that.
13 Sie mwet su wulela in fosrngakin soemoul lun sie mwetsac, el enenu in sang nuknuk lal sifacna in mwe akpwaye nu ke soemoul el wuleang kac.
[You deserve to] have your property taken from you if you [foolishly] promise to a stranger (OR, a strange woman) that you will pay what she owes if she is unable to pay it [DOU].
14 Kom fin sala okasak mwet kawuk lom ke sie pusra lulap ke lututang, ac fah oana kom in filiya sie selnga nu facl.
If you rise early in the morning and call out a greeting to your neighbor [while he is still sleeping], he will consider it to be a curse, [not a blessing].
15 Sie mutan payuk su lungsena torkaskas, el oana pusren tultul in kof ke len af uh.
[Having] a wife that is [constantly] nagging is as [bad as listening] to rain continually dripping on a rainy day.
16 Kom ac oru fuka elan misla? Ya nu oasr pacl kom srike in tulokinya eng uh, ku sruokya mwe akmusra luin poum?
[Trying] to restrain/stop her [from doing that] is as [difficult] [SIM] [as trying] to stop the wind or [trying] to hold oil in your hand.
17 Mwet uh alutluti sie sin sie, oana ke osra uh ac sang tamla osra.
[We can use one] iron tool to sharpen [another] iron [tool]; similarly [SIM], [when one person shares] what he is thinking, it can help other people [to think more clearly].
18 Kom fin karingin soko sak fig, kom ac fah kang fahko kac. Sie mwet kulansap su karingin mwet kacto lal, fah akfulatyeyuk.
Those who take care of fig trees will have figs to eat; [similarly], servants who protect their master will be honored [by him].
19 Ngunin motom sifacna pa kom liye in kof uh, ac insiom pa fahkak ouiyom sifacna.
[When a person looks] in the water, he sees his own face; similarly [SIM], [when we look at] a person’s behavior, we know what he is thinking.
[It is as though] the place where the dead people are is always wanting more people to [die and] come there; and humans [SYN] are always wanting to acquire more things, [too]. (Sheol h7585)
21 E uh pa likliki gold ac silver; ac elahn sie mwet kalem ke kaksak lun mwet uh.
[Workers put] silver and gold in a very hot furnace [to burn out what is impure], and [SIM] people learn [what we are really like when they see how we react when people] praise us.
22 Kom finne sringil sie mwet lalfon nwe ke el apkuran in misa, kom tia ku in sisla lalfon lal.
Even if you beat/crush a fool severely [like] [MET] you pulverize grain with a pestle, you [probably] will not be able to cause him to stop (being foolish/doing foolish things).
23 Karinganang sheep ac nani nutum akwoya,
Take good care of your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle,
24 mweyen mwe kasrup uh sukawil. Finne mutunfacl lulap uh, ac tia oan nwe tok.
because the money [that you acquired from selling animals previously] will not (last/stay with you) forever; similarly [SIM], governments [MTY] certainly do not [RHQ] last forever.
25 Pakela mah nun sheep ac nani uh, ac ke kom soano in sifil srunak, kom ku in eisani mah pe eol uh.
After you cut the hay [DOU] and [store it to feed the animals in the winter while] a new crop of hay is growing,
26 Kom ku in orala nuknuk ke unen sheep nutum, ac moul acn ke mani kom sruokya ke nani ma kom kukakunla.
you will be able to [shear the sheep and] make clothes from the wool, and you will get money from selling [some of] the goats to buy [more] land,
27 Na kom, ac sou lom wi mutan kulansap lom, fah ku in nim milk ke nani lula uh.
and you will get enough milk from the [other] goats for you and your family and your female servants.
