Common English Bible CEB
The Message Bible MSG
1 Like snow in the summer or rain at harvest, so honor isn't appropriate for a fool.
1
We no more give honors to fools than pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest.
2 Like a darting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so an undeserved curse never arrives.
2
You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse as from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow.
3 A whip for a horse, a bridle for a donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.
3
A whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the sailboat - and a stick for the back of fools!
4 Don't answer fools according to their folly, or you will become like them yourself.
4
Don't respond to the stupidity of a fool; you'll only look foolish yourself.
5 Answer fools according to their folly, or they will deem themselves wise.
5
Answer a fool in simple terms so he doesn't get a swelled head.
6 Sending messages with a fool is like cutting off one's feet or drinking down violence.
6
You're only asking for trouble when you send a message by a fool.
7 As legs dangle from a disabled person, so does a proverb in the mouth of fools.
7
A proverb quoted by fools is limp as a wet noodle.
8 Like tying a stone in a sling, so is giving respect to a fool.
8
Putting a fool in a place of honor is like setting a mud brick on a marble column.
9 Like a thorny bush in the hand of a drunk, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
9
To ask a moron to quote a proverb is like putting a scalpel in the hands of a drunk.
10 Like an archer who wounds someone randomly, so is one who hires a fool or a passerby.
10
Hire a fool or a drunk and you shoot yourself in the foot.
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats foolish mistakes.
11
As a dog eats its own vomit, so fools recycle silliness.
12 Do you see people who consider themselves wise? There is more hope for a fool than for them.
12
See that man who thinks he's so smart? You can expect far more from a fool than from him.
13 A lazy person says, "There's a lion in the path! A lion in the plazas!"
13
Loafers say, "It's dangerous out there! Tigers are prowling the streets!" and then pull the covers back over their heads.
14 As a door turns on its hinge, so do lazy people in their beds.
14
Just as a door turns on its hinges, so a lazybones turns back over in bed.
15 Lazy people bury their hand into the bowl, too tired to return it to their mouth.
15
A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie, but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth. Like Glaze on Cracked Pottery
16 Lazy people think they are wiser than seven people who answer sensibly.
16
Dreamers fantasize their self-importance; they think they are smarter than a whole college faculty.
17 Like yanking the ears of a dog, so is one who passes by and gets involved in another person's fight.
17
You grab a mad dog by the ears when you butt into a quarrel that's none of your business.
18 Like a crazy person shooting deadly flaming arrows
18
People who shrug off deliberate deceptions, saying, "I didn't mean it, I was only joking,"
19 are those who deceive their neighbor and say, "Hey, I was only joking!"
19
Are worse than careless campers who walk away from smoldering campfires.
20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossips, conflict calms down.
20
When you run out of wood, the fire goes out; when the gossip ends, the quarrel dies down.
21 Like adding charcoal to embers or wood to fire, quarrelsome people kindle strife.
21
A quarrelsome person in a dispute is like kerosene thrown on a fire.
22 The words of gossips are like choice snacks; they go down to the inmost parts.
22
Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you want junk like that in your belly?
23 Smooth lips and an evil heart are like silver coating on clay.
23
Smooth talk from an evil heart is like glaze on cracked pottery.
24 Hateful people mislead with their lips, keeping their deception within.
24
Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend, all the while conniving against you.
25 Though they speak graciously, don't believe them, for seven horrible things are in their heart.
25
When he speaks warmly to you, don't believe him for a minute; he's just waiting for the chance to rip you off.
26 They may cover their hatred with trickery, but their evil will be revealed in public.
26
No matter how cunningly he conceals his malice, eventually his evil will be exposed in public.
27 Those who dig a pit will fall in it; those who roll a stone will have it turn back on them.
27
Malice backfires; spite boomerangs.
28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes; a flattering mouth causes destruction.
28
Liars hate their victims; flatterers sabotage trust.