The Message Bible MSG
New International Version NIV
1 We no more give honors to fools than pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest.
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Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse as from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow.
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Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
3 A whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the sailboat - and a stick for the back of fools!
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A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
4 Don't respond to the stupidity of a fool; you'll only look foolish yourself.
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Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.
5 Answer a fool in simple terms so he doesn't get a swelled head.
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Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.
6 You're only asking for trouble when you send a message by a fool.
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Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.
7 A proverb quoted by fools is limp as a wet noodle.
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Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
8 Putting a fool in a place of honor is like setting a mud brick on a marble column.
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Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.
9 To ask a moron to quote a proverb is like putting a scalpel in the hands of a drunk.
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Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
10 Hire a fool or a drunk and you shoot yourself in the foot.
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Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.
11 As a dog eats its own vomit, so fools recycle silliness.
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As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.
12 See that man who thinks he's so smart? You can expect far more from a fool than from him.
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Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.
13 Loafers say, "It's dangerous out there! Tigers are prowling the streets!" and then pull the covers back over their heads.
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A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!”
14 Just as a door turns on its hinges, so a lazybones turns back over in bed.
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As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.
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
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A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 Dreamers fantasize their self-importance; they think they are smarter than a whole college faculty.
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A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly.
17 You grab a mad dog by the ears when you butt into a quarrel that's none of your business.
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Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.
18 People who shrug off deliberate deceptions, saying, "I didn't mean it, I was only joking,"
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Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death
19 Are worse than careless campers who walk away from smoldering campfires.
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is one who deceives their neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
20 When you run out of wood, the fire goes out; when the gossip ends, the quarrel dies down.
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Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.
21 A quarrelsome person in a dispute is like kerosene thrown on a fire.
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As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
22 Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you want junk like that in your belly?
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The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
23 Smooth talk from an evil heart is like glaze on cracked pottery.
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Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart.
24 Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend, all the while conniving against you.
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Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit.
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.
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Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts.
26 No matter how cunningly he conceals his malice, eventually his evil will be exposed in public.
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Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27 Malice backfires; spite boomerangs.
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Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.
28 Liars hate their victims; flatterers sabotage trust.
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A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
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.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.