Contemporary English Version Staying Humble 1Can you stay humble if your friends are proud? Only if you can handle tar and stay clean! 2And watch out if your friends are rich and powerful. You cannot match their strength, and you might be crushed, just like a clay jar struck by an iron pan. 3The rich oppress and insult the poor, then demand an apology! 4The rich will try to use you, but if you need help, don't bother to ask. 5When they come to visit you, they will soak up what little you have. 6If they need your help, they smile and act kind and even ask how they can be of service. But don't be fooled-- it's all lies! 7They will invite you to dinner, but in the long run you'll pay three times what it cost. And when you have nothing left, they will laugh and sneer and keep their distance. 8So be smart and careful, not deceived and humiliated. 9Important people will want you around, if you don't try too hard to be their friend. 10Push yourself on them, and you will face rejection; act cold, and they will forget that you are alive. 11Don't try to be their equal or trust them when they have long talks with you. They are smiling, but you are being tested. 12Those who tell secrets are cruel and would just as soon hurt you or send you to prison. 13Be careful! Don't risk disaster by sharing your secrets. 14Wake up and pay attention! Every day of your life, love the Lord and pray that he will protect you. * 15Animals and people 16love their own kind. 17Wolves and lambs have about as much in common as sinners and God's people. 18Hyenas and dogs are natural enemies, just like the poor and the rich. 19Desert lions will always feast on wild donkeys, and the rich will gobble up the needy. 20The rich and proud consider the poor and humble to be disgusting. The Rich and the Poor 21When the rich start to stumble their friends lend a hand, but let the poor fall down, and their friends pretend not to know them. 22When the rich are in trouble, many will offer to help and will even make excuses when the rich insult them. But let the poor get in trouble, and all they get is criticism, even if they speak wisely. 23When the rich speak, everyone listens with great respect. But if the poor speak, everyone asks, "Just who do they think they are?" And if the poor start to trip, people give them a push. 24It's good to have wealth if you got it honestly, but don't be ungodly and claim that being poor is evil. Be Good to Yourself 25With one look at your face anyone can see if you are happy or sad. 26A smile shows you are happy, and a tired look may mean you have been trying too hard to think up a proverb. Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. Bible text from the Contemporary English Version 2nd Edition (CEV®) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (www.americanbible.org). Learn more at www.cev.bible. Discover .BIBLE resources for your ministry at www.get.bible/cev. |