The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 Don't envy bad people; don't even want to be around them.
1
Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
2 All they think about is causing a disturbance; all they talk about is making trouble.
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For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3 It takes wisdom to build a house, and understanding to set it on a firm foundation;
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Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
4 It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.
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And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
5 It's better to be wise than strong; intelligence outranks muscle any day.
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A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
6 Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel.
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For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7 Wise conversation is way over the head of fools; in a serious discussion they haven't a clue.
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Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
8 The person who's always cooking up some evil soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.
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He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
9 Fools incubate sin; cynics desecrate beauty. Rescue the Perishing
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The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
10 If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn't much to you in the first place.
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If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
11 Rescue the perishing; don't hesitate to step in and help.
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If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
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.
12
If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
13 Eat honey, dear child - it's good for you - and delicacies that melt in your mouth.
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My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
14 Likewise knowledge, and wisdom for your soul - Get that and your future's secured, your hope is on solid rock.
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So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
15 Don't interfere with good people's lives; don't try to get the best of them.
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Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:
16 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.
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For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
17 Don't laugh when your enemy falls; don't crow over his collapse.
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Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
18 God might see, and become very provoked, and then take pity on his plight.
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Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
19 Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
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Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;
20 Those people have no future at all; they're headed down a dead-end street.
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For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
21 Fear God, dear child - respect your leaders; don't be defiant or mutinous.
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My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
22 Without warning your life can turn upside-down, and who knows how or when it might happen?
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For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
23 It's wrong, very wrong, to go along with injustice.
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These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
24 Whoever whitewashes the wicked gets a black mark in the history books,
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He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:
25 But whoever exposes the wicked will be thanked and rewarded.
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But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
26 An honest answer is like a warm hug.
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Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
27 First plant your fields; then build your barn.
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Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
28 Don't talk about your neighbors behind their backs - no slander or gossip, please.
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Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
29 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!"
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Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
30 One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones, and then passed the vineyard of a lout;
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I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31 They were overgrown with weeds, thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.
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And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 I took a long look and pondered what I saw; the fields preached me a sermon and I listened:
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Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
33 "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?
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Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
34 Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, with poverty as your permanent houseguest!"
34
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
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 King James Version is in the public domain.