The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
New King James Version NKJV
1 Don't boast about tomorrow, for you don't know what the day may bring.
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Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
2 Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth, a stranger and not your own lips.
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Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.
3 Stone is heavy and sand a dead weight, but a fool's provocation outweighs them both.
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A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, But a fool's wrath is heavier than both of them.
4 Fury is cruel and anger overwhelming, but who can stand up to jealousy?
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Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, But who is able to stand before jealousy?
5 Better open rebuke than hidden love.
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Open rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed.
6 Wounds from a friend are received as well-meant, but an enemy's kisses are insincere.
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Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
7 A person who is full loathes a honeycomb; but to the hungry, any bitter thing is sweet.
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A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8 Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.
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Like a bird that wanders from its nest Is a man who wanders from his place.
9 Perfume and incense make the heart glad, [also] friendship sweet with advice from the heart.
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Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man's friend gives delight by hearty counsel.
10 Don't abandon a friend who is also a friend of your father. Don't enter your brother's house on the day of your calamity -better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
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Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, Nor go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
11 My son, become wise, and gladden my heart, so that I can answer my critics.
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My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, That I may answer him who reproaches me.
12 The clever see trouble coming and hide; the thoughtless go on and pay the penalty.
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A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; The simple pass on and are punished.
13 Seize his clothes because he guaranteed a stranger's loan; take them as security for that unknown woman.
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Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger, And hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress.
14 Whoever greets his neighbor in a loud voice at dawn might just as well have cursed him.
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He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It will be counted a curse to him.
15 A leak that keeps dripping on a rainy day and the nagging of a wife are the same -
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A continual dripping on a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike;
16 whoever can restrain her can restrain the wind or keep perfume on his hand from making itself known.
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Whoever restrains her restrains the wind, And grasps oil with his right hand.
17 Just as iron sharpens iron, a person sharpens the character of his friend.
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As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoever tends the fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who is attentive to his master will be honored.
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Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit; So he who waits on his master will be honored.
19 Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another.
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As in water face reflects face, So a man's heart reveals the man.
20 Sh'ol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and human eyes are never satisfied.
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Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 The crucible [tests] silver, and the furnace [tests] gold, but a person [is tested] by [his reaction to] praise.
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The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, And a man is valued by what others say of him.
22 You can crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle, along with the grain being crushed; yet his foolishness will not leave him.
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Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.
23 Take care to know the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds.
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Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds;
24 For wealth doesn't last forever, neither does a crown through all generations.
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For riches are not forever, Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
25 When the hay has been mown, and the new grass appears, and the mountain greens have been gathered;
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When the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,
26 the lambs will provide your clothing, the goats will sell for enough to buy a field,
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The lambs will provide your clothing, And the goats the price of a field;
27 and there will be enough goat's milk to [buy] food for you and your household and maintenance for your servant-girls.
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You shall have enough goats' milk for your food, For the food of your household, And the nourishment of your maidservants.