Common English Bible CEB
The Message Bible MSG
1 Don't envy evil people, and don't long to be with them.
1
Don't envy bad people; don't even want to be around them.
2 Their hearts are focused on violence, and their lips speak of trouble.
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All they think about is causing a disturbance; all they talk about is making trouble.
3 By wisdom a house is built; by understanding it is established.
3
It takes wisdom to build a house, and understanding to set it on a firm foundation;
4 By knowledge rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant wealth.
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It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.
5 A wise person is mightier than a strong one; a knowledgeable person than a powerful one.
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It's better to be wise than strong; intelligence outranks muscle any day.
6 You should make war with guidance; victory comes with many counselors.
6
Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel.
7 Wisdom is beyond foolish people. They don't open their mouths in the gate.
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Wise conversation is way over the head of fools; in a serious discussion they haven't a clue.
8 Those who plot evil will be called master schemers.
8
The person who's always cooking up some evil soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.
9 The scheming of fools is sin; people detest mockers.
9
Fools incubate sin; cynics desecrate beauty. Rescue the Perishing
10 If you show yourself weak on a day of distress, your strength is too small.
10
If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn't much to you in the first place.
11 Rescue those being taken off to death; and from those staggering to the slaughter, don't hold back.
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Rescue the perishing; don't hesitate to step in and help.
12 If you say, "Look, we didn't know about it," the one who weighs hearts—doesn't he understand? The one who protects your life—he knows. He makes people pay for their actions.
12
If you say, "Hey, that's none of my business," will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know - Someone not impressed with weak excuses.
13 My child, eat honey, for it is good. The honeycomb is sweet in your mouth.
13
Eat honey, dear child - it's good for you - and delicacies that melt in your mouth.
14 Know that wisdom is like that for your whole being. If you find it, there is a future. Your hope won't be cut off.
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Likewise knowledge, and wisdom for your soul - Get that and your future's secured, your hope is on solid rock.
15 Wicked one, don't wait secretly at the home of the righteous. Don't destroy their dwelling.
15
Don't interfere with good people's lives; don't try to get the best of them.
16 The righteous may fall seven times but still get up, but the wicked will stumble into trouble.
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No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don't stay down long; Soon they're up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces.
17 When your enemies fall, don't rejoice. When they stumble, don't let your heart be glad,
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Don't laugh when your enemy falls; don't crow over his collapse.
18 or the LORD will see it and be displeased, and he will turn his anger from them.
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God might see, and become very provoked, and then take pity on his plight.
19 Don't get fighting mad at evil people; don't be envious of the wicked.
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Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
20 Indeed, there is no future for the evil; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
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Those people have no future at all; they're headed down a dead-end street.
21 Fear the LORD, my child, as well as the king. Don't associate with those who are rebellious.
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Fear God, dear child - respect your leaders; don't be defiant or mutinous.
22 Disaster comes suddenly from them. Who can know the ruin that both can bring?
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Without warning your life can turn upside-down, and who knows how or when it might happen?
23 These are also the sayings of the wise: Partiality in judgment isn't good.
23
It's wrong, very wrong, to go along with injustice.
24 Those who say to the guilty, "You are innocent"— the people will curse them. Nations will condemn them.
24
Whoever whitewashes the wicked gets a black mark in the history books,
25 But it will go well for those who rebuke them. A rich blessing will come to them.
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But whoever exposes the wicked will be thanked and rewarded.
26 Those who speak honestly are like those who kiss on the lips.
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An honest answer is like a warm hug.
27 Get your outside work done; make preparations in the field; then you can build your house.
27
First plant your fields; then build your barn.
28 Don't be a witness against your neighbor without reason; don't deceive with your lips.
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Don't talk about your neighbors behind their backs - no slander or gossip, please.
29 Don't say, "I'll do to them what they did to me. I'll pay them back for their actions."
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Don't say to anyone, "I'll get back at you for what you did to me. I'll make you pay for what you did!"
30 I happened upon the field of a lazy person, by the vineyard of one with no sense.
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One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones, and then passed the vineyard of a lout;
31 Thorns grew all over it; weeds covered the ground, and the stone wall was falling down.
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They were overgrown with weeds, thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.
32 I observed this and took it to heart; I saw it and learned a lesson.
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I took a long look and pondered what I saw; the fields preached me a sermon and I listened:
33 "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little lying down with folded arms"—
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"A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy - do you know what comes next?
34 and poverty will come on you like a prowler, deprivation like a man with a shield.
34
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, with poverty as your permanent houseguest!"