1Here are more wise sayings/words that Solomon wrote. Some men who worked for Hezekiah, the king of Judah, copied them from a scroll that Solomon had written.
2We consider God to be great because he ◄acts in mysterious ways/does things that we cannot understand►; we consider kings to be great because they explain things.
3It is not possible for anyone to measure how high the sky is or how deep the earth/ocean is; likewise [SIM], it is not possible for us to know all that kings are thinking.
4If workers burn out the impure bits that are in silver, a man who makes things from silver can make something beautiful from the silver.
5Similarly, if wicked advisors are taken away from a king, his government will remain secure, because the king will be able to act justly.
6When you stand in front of a king, do not try to ◄impress him/honor yourself► and do not ◄act like you are important/ask to sit where important people sit;►
7it is better if someone tells you to sit closer to the king than for someone to tell you, while the king is listening, to sit further away in order that someone who is more important may sit closer to the king.
8Do not quickly go to a court to tell the judge about something that you have seen, because another witness may later say something that proves that you are wrong, and as a result you will be disgraced/ashamed. If that happens, ◄what will you do?/you will not know what to do.► [RHQ]
9If you and someone else think differently about some matter, settle it between yourselves, and do not tell others any secret that he has told you.
10If others find out that you have told secrets, you will be ashamed, and from that time on, ◄you will have a bad reputation/people will think badly about you►.
11Something that is said that is very appropriate is as delightful as seeing [SIM] gold apples/ornaments in a silver bowl.
12When a wise person rebukes/warns someone [SYN] who is willing to listen, that is as valuable as [SIM] a gold ring or a gold chain.
13A messenger who ◄is reliable/tells someone else exactly what he was told to say► refreshes the spirits of his bosses who sent him like [SIM] ◄snow/cold water► refreshes the ground at the time that people harvest crops.
14When someone promises to give a gift to us but never gives it, that disappoints us as much as [SIM] clouds and wind that come but do not bring any rain.
15If someone keeps requesting a ruler long enough to do something, he will often agree to do it; similarly, by speaking [MTY] gently we can often convince others that what we say is right [IDM].
16If you find some honey, do not eat a lot of it, because doing that may cause you to vomit.
17Do not go to your neighbor’s house very often to talk with him; if you go very often, he will get tired of listening to you and start to hate you.
18To falsely accuse others in court is like [SIM] attacking them with a war-club or a sword or a sharp arrow.
19Depending on unreliable people when you have troubles is as bad as trying to eat when you have a bad/hurting tooth or trying to walk when your foot is crippled.
20Singing to someone who is depressed just causes him to feel worse; it is like [SIM] taking off clothes on a very cold day or like putting vinegar on a wound.
21If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;
22doing that will cause them to feel ashamed [IDM], and Yahweh will reward you for doing that.
23When wind blows from the right direction, it will rain; similarly [SIM], if we gossip about others, that causes them to look at us very angrily.
24It is better to live ◄alone/by yourself► in the corner of an attic/housetop than to live inside the house with a wife who is always nagging.
25Receiving good news from a country far away refreshes our spirits like [SIM] cold water refreshes us when we are very thirsty.
26When a righteous/good person ◄gives in/yields► to wicked people, that is as bad as [SIM] a spring that becomes muddied or a fountain that becomes polluted.
27It is not good to eat too much honey, and trying to get people to praise you is also not good.
28People who ◄cannot control their tempers/quickly become very angry► are unable to defend their behavior; that is like having a city without a wall around it, with the result that no one can defend it.