New International Version | New Living Translation |
1Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. | 1Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring. |
2Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips. | 2Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth— a stranger, not your own lips. |
3Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both. | 3A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier. |
4Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? | 4Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous. |
5Better is open rebuke than hidden love. | 5An open rebuke is better than hidden love! |
6Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. | 6Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. |
7One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet. | 7A person who is full refuses honey, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry. |
8Like a bird that flees its nest is anyone who flees from home. | 8A person who strays from home is like a bird that strays from its nest. |
9Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice. | 9The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. |
10Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative's house when disaster strikes you-- better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away. | 10Never abandon a friend— either yours or your father’s. When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance. It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away. |
11Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt. | 11Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad. Then I will be able to answer my critics. |
12The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. | 12A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. |
13Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider. | 13Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt. Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners. |
14If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse. | 14A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse! |
15A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm; | 15A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day. |
16restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand. | 16Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold something with greased hands. |
17As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. | 17As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. |
18The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master will be honored. | 18As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit, so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded. |
19As water reflects the face, so one's life reflects the heart. | 19As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. |
20Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes. | 20Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied. |
21The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise. | 21Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised. |
22Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them. | 22You cannot separate fools from their foolishness, even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle. |
23Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; | 23Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, |
24for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. | 24for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation. |
25When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in, | 25After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears and the mountain grasses are gathered in, |
26the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field. | 26your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will provide the price of a field. |
27You will have plenty of goats' milk to feed your family and to nourish your female servants. | 27And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself, your family, and your servant girls. |
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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