New Revised Standard NRS
The Message Bible MSG
1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
1
We no more give honors to fools than pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest.
2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.
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 the horse, a bridle for the 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 Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool 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 be wise in their own eyes.
5
Answer a fool in simple terms so he doesn't get a swelled head.
6 It is like cutting off one's foot and drinking down violence, to send a message by a fool.
6
You're only asking for trouble when you send a message by a fool.
7 The legs of a disabled person hang limp; so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
7
A proverb quoted by fools is limp as a wet noodle.
8 It is like binding a stone in a sling to give honor 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 thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
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 everybody is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
10
Hire a fool or a drunk and you shoot yourself in the foot.
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who reverts to his folly.
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As a dog eats its own vomit, so fools recycle silliness.
12 Do you see persons wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for fools than for them.
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See that man who thinks he's so smart? You can expect far more from a fool than from him.
13 The lazy person says, "There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!"
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 hinges, so does a lazy person in bed.
14
Just as a door turns on its hinges, so a lazybones turns back over in bed.
15 The lazy person buries a hand in the dish, and is too tired to bring it back to the 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 The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem than seven who can answer discreetly.
16
Dreamers fantasize their self-importance; they think they are smarter than a whole college faculty.
17 Like somebody who takes a passing dog by the ears is one who meddles in the quarrel of another.
17
You grab a mad dog by the ears when you butt into a quarrel that's none of your business.
18 Like a maniac who shoots deadly firebrands and arrows,
18
People who shrug off deliberate deceptions, saying, "I didn't mean it, I was only joking,"
19 so is one who deceives a neighbor and says, "I am only joking!"
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Are worse than careless campers who walk away from smoldering campfires.
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
20
When you run out of wood, the fire goes out; when the gossip ends, the quarrel dies down.
21 As charcoal is to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
21
A quarrelsome person in a dispute is like kerosene thrown on a fire.
22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.
22
Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you want junk like that in your belly?
23 Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are smooth lips with an evil heart.
23
Smooth talk from an evil heart is like glaze on cracked pottery.
24 An enemy dissembles in speaking while harboring deceit within;
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Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend, all the while conniving against you.
25 when an enemy speaks graciously, do not believe it, for there are seven abominations concealed within;
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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 though hatred is covered with guile, the enemy's wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
26
No matter how cunningly he conceals his malice, eventually his evil will be exposed in public.
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.
27
Malice backfires; spite boomerangs.
28 A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
28
Liars hate their victims; flatterers sabotage trust.
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.
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.