The Latin Vulgate VUL
Good News Translation GNT
1 quomodo nix aestate et pluvia in messe sic indecens est stulto gloria
1
Praise for a fool is out of place, like snow in summer or rain at harvest time.
2 sicut avis ad alia transvolans et passer quolibet vadens sic maledictum frustra prolatum in quempiam superveniet
2
Curses cannot hurt you unless you deserve them. They are like birds that fly by and never light.
3 flagellum equo et camus asino et virga dorso inprudentium
3
You have to whip a horse, you have to bridle a donkey, and you have to beat a fool.
4 ne respondeas stulto iuxta stultitiam suam ne efficiaris ei similis
4
If you answer a silly question, you are just as silly as the person who asked it.
5 responde stulto iuxta stultitiam suam ne sibi sapiens esse videatur
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 claudus pedibus et iniquitatem bibens qui mittit verba per nuntium stultum
6
If you let a fool deliver a message, you might as well cut off your own feet; you are asking for trouble.
7 quomodo pulchras frustra habet claudus tibias sic indecens est in ore stultorum parabola
7
A fool can use a proverb about as well as crippled people can use their legs.
8 sicut qui mittit lapidem in acervum Mercurii ita qui tribuit insipienti honorem
8
Praising someone who is stupid makes as much sense as tying a stone in a sling.
9 quomodo si spina nascatur in manu temulenti sic parabola in ore stultorum
9
A fool quoting a wise saying reminds you of a drunk trying to pick a thorn out of his hand.
10 iudicium determinat causas et qui inponit stulto silentium iras mitigat
10
An employer who hires any fool that comes along is only hurting everybody concerned.
11 sicut canis qui revertitur ad vomitum suum sic inprudens qui iterat stultitiam suam
11
A fool doing some stupid thing a second time is like a dog going back to its vomit.
12 vidisti hominem sapientem sibi videri magis illo spem habebit stultus
12
The most stupid fool is better off than those who think they are wise when they are not.
13 dicit piger leaena in via leo in itineribus
13
Why don't lazy people ever get out of the house? What are they afraid of? Lions?
14 sicut ostium vertitur in cardine suo ita piger in lectulo suo
14
Lazy people turn over in bed. They get no farther than a door swinging on its hinges.
15 abscondit piger manus sub ascellas suas et laborat si ad os suum eas converterit
15
Some people are too lazy to put food in their own mouths.
16 sapientior sibi piger videtur septem viris loquentibus sententias
16
A lazy person will think he is smarter than seven men who can give good reasons for their opinions.
17 sicut qui adprehendit auribus canem sic qui transit et inpatiens commiscetur rixae alterius
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 sicut noxius est qui mittit lanceas et sagittas et mortem
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 sic vir qui fraudulenter nocet amico suo et cum fuerit deprehensus dicit ludens feci
20 cum defecerint ligna extinguetur ignis et susurrone subtracto iurgia conquiescunt
20
Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, quarreling stops.
21 sicut carbones ad prunam et ligna ad ignem sic homo iracundus suscitat rixas
21
Charcoal keeps the embers glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive.
22 verba susurronis quasi simplicia et ipsa perveniunt ad intima ventris
22
Gossip is so tasty! How we love to swallow it!
23 quomodo si argento sordido ornare velis vas fictile sic labia tumentia cum pessimo corde sociata
23
Insincere talk that hides what you are really thinking is like a fine glaze on a cheap clay pot.
24 labiis suis intellegitur inimicus cum in corde tractaverit dolos
24
A hypocrite hides hate behind flattering words.
25 quando submiserit vocem suam ne credideris ei quoniam septem nequitiae sunt in corde illius
25
They may sound fine, but don't believe him, because his heart is filled to the brim with hate.
26 qui operit odium fraudulenter revelabitur malitia eius in concilio
26
He may disguise his hatred, but everyone will see the evil things he does.
27 qui fodit foveam incidet in eam et qui volvit lapidem revertetur ad eum
27
People who set traps for others get caught themselves. People who start landslides get crushed.
28 lingua fallax non amat veritatem et os lubricum operatur ruinas
28
You have to hate someone to want to hurt him with lies. Insincere talk brings nothing but ruin.
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.