The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Like snow in summer or rain at harvest-time, so honor for a fool is out of place.
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Like snow in summer and rain when the grain is being cut, so honour is not natural for the foolish.
2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a flying swallow, an undeserved curse will come home to roost.
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As the sparrow in her wandering and the swallow in her flight, so the curse does not come without a cause.
3 A whip for a horse, a bridle for a donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.
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A whip for the horse, a mouth-bit for the ass, and a rod for the back of the foolish.
4 Don't answer a fool in terms of his folly, or you will be descending to his level;
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Do not give to the foolish man a foolish answer, or you will be like him.
5 but answer a fool as his folly deserves, so that he won't think he is wise.
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Give a foolish man a foolish answer, or he will seem wise to himself.
6 Telling a message to a fool and sending him out is like cutting off one's feet and drinking violence.
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He who sends news by the hand of a foolish man is cutting off his feet and drinking in damage.
7 The legs of the disabled hang limp and useless; likewise a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
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The legs of one who has no power of walking are hanging loose; so is a wise saying in the mouth of the foolish.
8 Like one who ties his stone to the sling is he who gives honor to a fool.
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Giving honour to a foolish man is like attempting to keep a stone fixed in a cord.
9 Like a thorn branch in the hand of a drunk is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
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Like a thorn which goes up into the hand of a man overcome by drink, so is a wise saying in the mouth of a foolish man.
10 A master can make anything, but hiring a fool is like hiring some passer-by.
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Like an archer wounding all who go by, is a foolish man overcome by drink.
11 Just as a dog returns to his vomit, a fool repeats his folly.
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Like a dog going back to the food which he has not been able to keep down, is the foolish man doing his foolish acts over again.
12 Do you see someone who thinks himself wise? There is more hope for a fool than for him!
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Have you seen a man who seems to himself to be wise? There is more hope for the foolish than for him.
13 The lazy person says, "There's a lion in the streets! A lion is roaming loose out there!"
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The hater of work says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
14 The door turns on its hinges, and the lazy man on his bed.
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A door is turned on its pillar, and the hater of work on his bed.
15 The lazy person buries his hand in the dish but is too tired to return it to his mouth.
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The hater of work puts his hand deep into the basin: lifting it again to his mouth is a weariness to him.
16 A lazy man is wiser in his own view than seven who can answer with sense.
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The hater of work seems to himself wiser than seven men who are able to give an answer with good sense.
17 Like someone who grabs a dog by the ears is a passer-by who mixes in a fight not his own.
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He who gets mixed up in a fight which is not his business, is like one who takes a dog by the ears while it is going by.
18 Like a madman shooting deadly arrows and firebrands
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As one who is off his head sends about flaming sticks and arrows of death,
19 is one who deceives another, then says, "It was just a joke."
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So is the man who gets the better of his neighbour by deceit, and says, Am I not doing so in sport?
20 If there's no wood, the fire goes out; if nobody gossips, contention stops.
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Without wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no secret talk, argument is ended.
21 As coals are to embers and wood to fire is a quarrelsome person to kindling strife.
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Like breath on coals and wood on fire, so a man given to argument gets a fight started.
22 A slanderer's words are tasty morsels; they slide right down into the belly.
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The words of one who says evil of his neighbour secretly are like sweet food, they go down into the inner parts of the stomach.
23 Like silver slag overlaid on a clay pot are lips that burn [with friendship] over a hating heart.
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Smooth lips and an evil heart are like a vessel of earth plated with silver waste.
24 He who hates may hide it with his speech; but inside, he harbors deceit.
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With his lips the hater makes things seem what they are not, but deceit is stored up inside him;
25 He may speak pleasantly, but don't trust him; for seven abominations are in his heart.
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When he says fair words, have no belief in him; for in his heart are seven evils:
26 His hatred may be concealed by deceit, but his wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.
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Though his hate is covered with deceit, his sin will be seen openly before the meeting of the people.
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.
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He who makes a hole in the earth will himself go falling into it: and on him by whom a stone is rolled the stone will come back again.
28 A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
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A false tongue has hate for those who have clean hearts, and a smooth mouth is a cause of falling.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.