Revised Standard Version RSV
Good News Translation GNT
1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
1
Praise for a fool is out of place, like snow in summer or rain at harvest time.
2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.
2
Curses cannot hurt you unless you deserve them. They are like birds that fly by and never light.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the back of fools.
3
You have to whip a horse, you have to bridle a donkey, and you have to beat a fool.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
4
If you answer a silly question, you are just as silly as the person who asked it.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
5
Give a silly answer to a silly question, and the one who asked it will realize that he's not as smart as he thinks.
6 He who sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
6
If you let a fool deliver a message, you might as well cut off your own feet; you are asking for trouble.
7 Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
7
A fool can use a proverb about as well as crippled people can use their legs.
8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling is he who gives honor to a fool.
8
Praising someone who is stupid makes as much sense as tying a stone in a sling.
9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
9
A fool quoting a wise saying reminds you of a drunk trying to pick a thorn out of his hand.
10 Like an archer who wounds everybody is he who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
10
An employer who hires any fool that comes along is only hurting everybody concerned.
11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool that repeats his folly.
11
A fool doing some stupid thing a second time is like a dog going back to its vomit.
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
12
The most stupid fool is better off than those who think they are wise when they are not.
13 The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!"
13
Why don't lazy people ever get out of the house? What are they afraid of? Lions?
14 As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.
14
Lazy people turn over in bed. They get no farther than a door swinging on its hinges.
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
15
Some people are too lazy to put food in their own mouths.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer discreetly.
16
A lazy person will think he is smarter than seven men who can give good reasons for their opinions.
17 He who meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
17
Getting involved in an argument that is none of your business is like going down the street and grabbing a dog by the ears.
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,
18
Someone who tricks someone else and then claims that he was only joking is like a crazy person playing with a deadly weapon.
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I am only joking!"
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out; and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
20
Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, quarreling stops.
21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
21
Charcoal keeps the embers glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive.
22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.
22
Gossip is so tasty! How we love to swallow it!
23 Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are smooth lips with an evil heart.
23
Insincere talk that hides what you are really thinking is like a fine glaze on a cheap clay pot.
24 He who hates, dissembles with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart;
24
A hypocrite hides hate behind flattering words.
25 when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart;
25
They may sound fine, but don't believe him, because his heart is filled to the brim with hate.
26 though his hatred be covered with guile, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
26
He may disguise his hatred, but everyone will see the evil things he does.
27 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back upon him who starts it rolling.
27
People who set traps for others get caught themselves. People who start landslides get crushed.
28 A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
28
You have to hate someone to want to hurt him with lies. Insincere talk brings nothing but ruin.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the 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.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.