New Revised Standard NRS
New International Version NIV
1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
1
Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.
2
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.
3
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
4 Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool yourself.
4
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.
5 Answer fools according to their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes.
5
Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.
6 It is like cutting off one's foot and drinking down violence, to send a message by a fool.
6
Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.
7 The legs of a disabled person hang limp; so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
7
Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
8 It is like binding a stone in a sling to give honor to a fool.
8
Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.