| Good News Translation (GNT) |
New International Version (NIV) |
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1 Praise for a fool is out of place, like snow in summer or rain at harvest time.
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1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool.
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2 Curses cannot hurt you unless you deserve them. They are like birds that fly by and never light.
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2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
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3 You have to whip a horse, you have to bridle a donkey, and you have to beat a fool.
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3 A whip for the horse, a halter for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
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4 If you answer a silly question, you are just as silly as the person who asked it.
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4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.
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5 Give a silly answer to a silly question, and the one who asked it will realize that he's not as smart as he thinks.
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5 Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.
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6 If you let a fool deliver a message, you might as well cut off your own feet; you are asking for trouble.
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6 Like cutting off one's feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.
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7 A fool can use a proverb about as well as crippled people can use their legs.
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7 Like a lame man's legs that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
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8 Praising someone who is stupid makes as much sense as tying a stone in a sling.
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8 Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.
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9 A fool quoting a wise saying reminds you of a drunk trying to pick a thorn out of his hand.
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9 Like a thornbush in a drunkard's hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
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10 An employer who hires any fool that comes along is only hurting everybody concerned.
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10 Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or any passer-by.
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11 A fool doing some stupid thing a second time is like a dog going back to its vomit.
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11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
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12 The most stupid fool is better off than those who think they are wise when they are not.
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12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
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13 Why don't lazy people ever get out of the house? What are they afraid of? Lions?
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13 The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!"
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14 Lazy people turn over in bed. They get no farther than a door swinging on its hinges.
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14 As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.
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15 Some people are too lazy to put food in their own mouths.
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15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
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16 A lazy person will think he is smarter than seven men who can give good reasons for their opinions.
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16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.
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17 Getting involved in an argument that is none of your business is like going down the street and grabbing a dog by the ears.
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17 Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
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18 Someone who tricks someone else and then claims that he was only joking is like a crazy person playing with a deadly weapon.
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18 Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows
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20 Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, quarreling stops.
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20 is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!"
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21 Charcoal keeps the embers glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive.
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21 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.
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22 Gossip is so tasty! How we love to swallow it!
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22 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
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23 Insincere talk that hides what you are really thinking is like a fine glaze on a cheap clay pot.
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23 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts.
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24 A hypocrite hides hate behind flattering words.
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24 Like a coating of glaze over earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart.
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25 They may sound fine, but don't believe him, because his heart is filled to the brim with hate.
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25 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit.
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26 He may disguise his hatred, but everyone will see the evil things he does.
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26 Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.
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27 People who set traps for others get caught themselves. People who start landslides get crushed.
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27 His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
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28 You have to hate someone to want to hurt him with lies. Insincere talk brings nothing but ruin.
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28 If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
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28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
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| Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission. (The Good News Translation - The Holy Bible Online) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
