New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
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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 sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.
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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 the horse, a bridle for the 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 Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool yourself.
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Do not give to the foolish man a foolish answer, or you will be like him.
5 Answer fools according to their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes.
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Give a foolish man a foolish answer, or he will seem wise to himself.
6 It is like cutting off one's foot and drinking down violence, to send a message by a fool.
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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 a disabled person hang limp; so does 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 It is like binding a stone in a sling to give 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 thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard 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 Like an archer who wounds everybody is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
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Like an archer wounding all who go by, is a foolish man overcome by drink.
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who reverts to 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 persons wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for fools than for them.
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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 is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!"
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The hater of work says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
14 As a door turns on its hinges, so does a lazy person in 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 a hand in the dish, and is too tired to bring it back to the 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 The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem than seven who can answer discreetly.
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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 somebody who takes a passing dog by the ears is one who meddles in the quarrel of another.
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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 maniac who shoots deadly firebrands and arrows,
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As one who is off his head sends about flaming sticks and arrows of death,
19 so is one who deceives a neighbor and says, "I am only joking!"
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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 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
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Without wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no secret talk, argument is ended.
21 As charcoal is to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for 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 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.
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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 the glaze covering an earthen vessel are smooth lips with an evil heart.
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Smooth lips and an evil heart are like a vessel of earth plated with silver waste.
24 An enemy dissembles in speaking while harboring deceit within;
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With his lips the hater makes things seem what they are not, but deceit is stored up inside him;
25 when an enemy speaks graciously, do not believe it, for there are seven abominations concealed within;
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When he says fair words, have no belief in him; for in his heart are seven evils:
26 though hatred is covered with guile, the enemy's wickedness will be exposed 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 works 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.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.