The Message Bible MSG
The Latin Vulgate VUL
1 Don't be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards.
1
nolite plures magistri fieri fratres mei scientes quoniam maius iudicium sumitis
2 And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you'd have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.
2
in multis enim offendimus omnes si quis in verbo non offendit hic perfectus est vir potens etiam freno circumducere totum corpus
3 A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse.
3
si autem equorum frenos in ora mittimus ad consentiendum nobis et omne corpus illorum circumferimus
4 A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds.
4
ecce et naves cum magnae sint et a ventis validis minentur circumferuntur a modico gubernaculo ubi impetus dirigentis voluerit
5 A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything - or destroy it!
5
ita et lingua modicum quidem membrum est et magna exultat ecce quantus ignis quam magnam silvam incendit
6 A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
6
et lingua ignis est universitas iniquitatis lingua constituitur in membris nostris quae maculat totum corpus et inflammat rotam nativitatis nostrae inflammata a gehenna
7 This is scary: You can tame a tiger,
7
omnis enim natura bestiarum et volucrum et serpentium etiam ceterorum domantur et domita sunt a natura humana
8 but you can't tame a tongue - it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer.
8
linguam autem nullus hominum domare potest inquietum malum plena veneno mortifero
9 With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image.
9
in ipsa benedicimus Dominum et Patrem et in ipsa maledicimus homines qui ad similitudinem Dei facti sunt
10 Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
10
ex ipso ore procedit benedictio et maledictio non oportet fratres mei haec ita fieri
11 A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it?
11
numquid fons de eodem foramine emanat dulcem et amaram aquam
12 Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?
12
numquid potest fratres mei ficus olivas facere aut vitis ficus sic neque salsa dulcem potest facere aquam
13 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts.
13
quis sapiens et disciplinatus inter vos ostendat ex bona conversatione operationem suam in mansuetudine sapientiae
14 Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom.
14
quod si zelum amarum habetis et contentiones in cordibus vestris nolite gloriari et mendaces esse adversus veritatem
15 It's the furthest thing from wisdom - it's animal cunning, devilish conniving.
15
non est ista sapientia desursum descendens sed terrena animalis diabolica
16 Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.
16
ubi enim zelus et contentio ibi inconstantia et omne opus pravum
17 Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced.
17
quae autem desursum est sapientia primum quidem pudica est deinde pacifica modesta suadibilis plena misericordia et fructibus bonis non iudicans sine simulatione
18 You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
18
fructus autem iustitiae in pace seminatur facientibus pacem
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.