Proverbs 16:8-29

⁸It is better to have a small amount of money that is earned honestly than to have a lot of money that is acquired dishonestly.

⁹People plan what they want to do, but Yahweh directs/determines what they will really be able to do.

¹⁰If God directs what a king says, what he decides is always right/fair.

¹¹Yahweh wants us to use scales that are correct; the weights in his bag are correct, because he made them.

¹²Kings detest those who do evil, because it is people doing what is fair/right that causes their governments to be MTY strong.

¹³Kings are delighted to hear people say MTY what is true; they love those who say what is right/honest.

¹⁴If a king becomes angry, he may command that someone be executed, so wise people will try to cause him to be calm.

¹⁵If a king has a smile MTY on his face, he will enable people to have a long life (OR, he will not order people to be executed); his being pleased with people is as delightful as rain in the springtime when seeds are planted.

¹⁶Becoming wise is better than aquiring gold; getting good understanding/insight is better than acquiring silver.

¹⁷Those whose behavior MET is good/right turn away from doing evil; those who guard their conduct MTY protect their lives.

¹⁸Being proud will ◄lead to your having/cause you to have► disasters; despising others will result in your being ruined.

¹⁹It is better to be humble and poor than to associate with proud people and to become rich by dividing with them ◄plunder/goods captured in a battle►.

²⁰Those who heed good teaching/instruction will prosper; happy are those who trust in Yahweh.

²¹People say that those who are wise learn what is right/good behavior, and those who talk pleasantly are able to influence others to do what is right.

²²Being wise is like having a fountain that gives life MET, but foolish people are punished as a result of their acting foolishly.

²³Those who are wise think carefully before they talk, and as a result they are able to influence/persuade others to do what is right.

²⁴Kind words are like honey SIM: We enjoy them both, and both cause our bodies to be healthy/strong.

²⁵There are some kinds of behavior MET that people think are right, but ◄walking on those roads MET/continually doing those things► causes those people to die.

²⁶If a worker ◄has an appetite/is hungry►, that urges him to work hard because he SYN wants to earn money to buy things to eat.

²⁷Worthless people plan ways to cause trouble for others, and even what they say injures people like a hot fire does SIM.

²⁸Deceitful people cause strife/quarreling among other people; those who say alse things about other people cause people who are friends to become enemies.

²⁹Those who act violently entice/encourage others to also act violently and lead them along a road that will end in disaster.