People Who Deserve Praise
1 There are three things in which I take special delight—things that are beautiful to the Lord and people alike:
brothers who get along with each other,
neighbors who are friends,
and a married couple who are happy together.
2 There are three kinds of people I cannot stand, whose behavior I find highly offensive:
poor people who are arrogant,
rich people who lie,
and foolish old men who commit adultery.
3 Unless you learn what you can while you are young, you will never be wise when you reach old age. 4 Sound judgment, good advice, and gray hair go together beautifully. 5 Wisdom, understanding, and sound counsel are appropriate to the aged and the respected. 6 Elderly people wear the crown of long experience, and they can boast of nothing finer than their fear of the Lord.
7 I will tell you about ten kinds of people that I feel fortunate to know, especially fortunate in the case of the tenth:
someone who takes pride in his children,
someone who lives to see his enemies fall,
8 a man fortunate enough to have an understanding wife,
a married couple who are well-matched,
a person who never speaks sinfully,
a person who doesn't have to work for someone less competent than himself,
9 someone fortunate enough to have a real friend,
a person that people are happy to listen to,
10 and the really great one: someone who is wise.
But the greatest one of all is the person who fears the Lord.
11 Such a person has no equal, because the fear of the Lord is the most important thing in the world.
Advice about Women
13 No wound is as serious as wounded love. No troubles are as serious as the troubles that women cause. 14 No sufferings are worse than the sufferings caused by people who hate you. No revenge is worse than revenge taken by an enemy. 15 No poison is deadlier than the poison of a snake, and no anger is deadlier than the anger of a woman.
16 I would rather live in the same house with a lion or a dragon than with a bad wife. 17 When a wife is in a bad mood, her expression changes until she looks like an angry bear. 18 Her husband has to go and eat with the neighbors, where he can't hold back his bitter sighs.
19 Compared with the troubles caused by a woman, any other trouble looks small. May such women suffer the fate of sinners!
20 A quiet man living with a nagging wife is like an old man climbing up a sandy hill.
21 Never lose your head over a woman's beauty, and don't try to win a woman because she is wealthy. 22 When a man is supported by his wife, there is sure to be anger, arrogance, and humiliation. 23 A bad wife will make her husband gloomy and depressed, and break his heart. Show me a timid man who can never make up his mind, and I will show you a wife who doesn't make her husband happy. 24 Sin began with a woman, and we must all die because of her. 25 Don't let a bad wife have her way, any more than you would allow water to leak from your cistern. 26 If she won't do as you tell her, divorce her.
Koasa anu hâ khoen
1 ǃNona xūn kaise ra ǃgâiaǂgao kai ten ge hâ, xūn hîa ǃKhūb tsî khoen tsîn hoana îsabana.
ǃGâsagu hîa ǀguiǂâixagu,
ǁanǁare-aon hîa khoexagun
tsî ǃgame hâ khoera hîa ǃgâise ǀguipa hâra tsîna.
2 ǃNona khoeǃnôan, ǁîn di ûiǀgaub xa ta ǃgâibahe tama xui-ao ta ǃhuisan ge hâ:
ǀGâsa khoen hîa ǀgapiǂâixan,
ǃkhū hâ khoen hîa ǂhumixan
tsî gâ kaira khoen hîa ra ǃgamekhôan tsîna.
3 Gā-aisibats ǂkhamsis âts ǃnâ ǀhaoǀhao tama nî is kao, mâtits kairats ka, o nî hō bi? 4 ǂHanu ǀgoraǃgâs, ǃgâi ǀapemās tsî ǀhai ǀûn tsîn ge îsase ra ǃgûǁare. 5 Mâtikōseb gā-aisiba kairasib ǃnâ a îsa tsî ra ǁnâuǃāb tsî ǀapemās tsîra a ǃgôaǃgôasa. 6 ǃGâi hōǃâs kaira khoen dis ge krons ase ī tsî ǁnāti ī khoen ge ǃKhūban ǃaoǃgâsiba ūba hâ, ti a koasen ǁkhā.
7 Khoese ǂâidi ǀkha ta ge ti ǂgaoba ge ǂkhîǂkhî tsî disiǁî-e ta ge ti nammi ǀkha nî mî:
ǁÎ-i ôan ǂama ǂnīsa khoe-i,
ǁî-i di khākhoen di ǁnāsa nî mûǃnâse, gaxuse ra ûi khoe-i tsîna.
8 ǀKhaehesa aob hîa gā-ai tarasa ūhâb,
ǃgame hâ khoera hîa ra ǁnâuǃā gura,
ǂkhaba mî-e ǃhoa tama khoe-i,
ǁîb xa ǃnaka hâ khoe-e nî sîsenbase i tama khoeb,
9 ǀkhaehesa khoe-i hîa ama ǀhōsa-e ūhâ-i,
khoe-i hîa khoen xa turaxase ra ǃgâhe-i,
10 tsî ama gā-aisiba ūhâ-i ge a kai,
xawe khoe-i hîa ǃKhūba ra ǃaoǃgâ-i ge hoan xa a kai.
11 ǁNāti i khoe-i ge hoana ra īǂam, ǃKhūba ǃaoǃgâs ge xūn hoan ǃgâ-ai a kai amaga.
Taradi
13 Tsû-i xare-i ge ǂgaob di tsûb khami ǁkhōǁkhōsa tama hâ. Tsî ǂkhabasi-i xare-i ge taras di ǂkhabasib khami ī tama hâ. 14 Tsâ-i xare-i ge ǁkhan tsi hâ khoe-i xa tsâ kaihes ǃgâ-ai tsū tama hâ. ǀKhao-i xare-i ge khākhoe-i xa ǀkhaohes ǃgâ-ai tsū tama hâ. 15 ǃGā-i xare-i ge ǀaob di ǃgāb ǃgâ-ai ǁōǁōsa tama hâ tsî ǁai-i xare-i ge tarekhoes di ǁaib ǃgâ-ai ǁōǁōsa tama hâ.
16 Tsū taras ǀkha ta nî ǁkhā oms ǃnâ hâs xa ta ge xammi tamas ka io kaiǀaob ǀkha ǁkhā oms ǃnâ nî hâ. 17 Taras di ǁgaiǂūsib ge ais âsa ra ǀkhara kai, ǁaixa bēr-i khamis nî ais âsa mûsens kōse. 18 ǁÎs aob ge ǃgû tsî ǁanǁare-aon ǀkha ra ǂû tsî ǁnāpa ǁîb di ǀhâimâinǀomsa a ǁkhae-oa ǁoa.
19 Taras xa ra ǃaromahe ǃgomsigu ǀkhats ga ǀgopeǀnō, on ge nau ǃgomsin hoana ǂkharise ra mûsen. As ǁnāti ī tarasa, ǁore-aon di ǁkharab ǁkhāba tsâ.
20 ǃNōsa aob hîa ǃhoaxa taras ǀkha hâb ge kaira aob ǀgopab ai ra ǂoab ǁkhāb khami ī.
21 Tā khoes di îsasib xa ǃkhō kaisen, î tā khoesa ǃkhūs hâ ǃkhais ǃaroma ǂhâba. 22 Aob ga taras âb xa ǃkhūsib âs ǀkha ǂkhâǃnâhe, os ge ǁîsa ǁaixa tsî ǀgapiǀgapisenxa tsî aob âsa ra taotao. 23 ǁGai tara-i ge ǁîs aoba ǃgâiaǂgaoba hā-ūba tama hâ; ǁnās ǃās ǃnâs ge ǁîba ra tsûaǂgao kai tsî ra ǃoaǃoa; ǁîs ge ǂgaob âba ra khôa kai. 24 Taradi ge sage, aoge hoage ǁore kai ǁkhā tsî ǁkhāti ǃoega ǁō kai ge ǁkhā. 25 Tāb ge aoba tsū tarasa, ǁgam-e ǁgamxapa-e xu ǂnâǂoasab mā-am tamas ǁkhās khami, ǂgaos ra xū-i hoa-e mîsa nî mā-am. 26 ǁÎs ga ǁnâuǀnam tsi ǂgao tama io, as sa ûiba xu ǂoa.
