Good News Translation GNT
New International Version NIV
1 Never boast about tomorrow. You don't know what will happen between now and then.
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Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let other people praise you - even strangers; never do it yourself.
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Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.
3 The weight of stone and sand is nothing compared to the trouble that stupidity can cause.
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Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Anger is cruel and destructive, but it is nothing compared to jealousy.
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Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
5 Better to correct someone openly than to let him think you don't care for him at all.
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Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
6 Friends mean well, even when they hurt you. But when an enemy puts his arm around your shoulder - watch out!
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Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
7 When you are full, you will refuse honey, but when you are hungry, even bitter food tastes sweet.
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One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.
8 Anyone away from home is like a bird away from its nest.
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Like a bird that flees its nest is anyone who flees from home.
9 Perfume and fragrant oils make you feel happier, but trouble shatters your peace of mind.
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Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.
10 Do not forget your friends or your father's friends. If you are in trouble, don't ask a relative for help; a nearby neighbor can help you more than relatives who are far away.
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Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
11 Be wise, my child, and I will be happy; I will have an answer for anyone who criticizes me.
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Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.
12 Sensible people will see trouble coming and avoid it, but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later.
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The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
13 Any people stupid enough to promise to be responsible for a stranger's debts deserve to have their own property held to guarantee payment.
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Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.
14 You might as well curse your friends as wake them up early in the morning with a loud greeting.
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If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.
15 A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip on a rainy day.
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A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
16 How can you keep her quiet? Have you ever tried to stop the wind or ever tried to hold a handful of oil?
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restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.
17 People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron.
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As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
18 Take care of a fig tree and you will have figs to eat. Servants who take care of their master will be honored.
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The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master will be honored.
19 It is your own face that you see reflected in the water and it is your own self that you see in your heart.
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As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.
20 Human desires are like the world of the dead - there is always room for more.
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Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes.
21 Fire tests gold and silver; a person's reputation can also be tested.
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The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.
22 Even if you beat fools half to death, you still can't beat their foolishness out of them.
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Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them.
23 Look after your sheep and cattle as carefully as you can,
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Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;
24 because wealth is not permanent. Not even nations last forever.
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for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.
25 You cut the hay and then cut the grass on the hillsides while the next crop of hay is growing.
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When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
26 You can make clothes from the wool of your sheep and buy land with the money you get from selling some of your goats.
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the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field.
27 The rest of the goats will provide milk for you and your family, and for your servant women as well.
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You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family and to nourish your female servants.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
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.