Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
1Don't boast about tomorrow, for you don't know what a day might bring. | 1Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring. |
2Let another praise you, and not your own mouth-- a stranger, and not your own lips. | 2Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth— a stranger, not your own lips. |
3A stone is heavy and sand, a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both. | 3A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier. |
4Fury is cruel, and anger a flood, but who can withstand jealousy? | 4Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous. |
5Better an open reprimand than concealed love. | 5An open rebuke is better than hidden love! |
6The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive. | 6Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. |
7A person who is full tramples on a honeycomb, but to a hungry person, any bitter thing is sweet. | 7A person who is full refuses honey, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry. |
8A man wandering from his home is like a bird wandering from its nest. | 8A person who strays from home is like a bird that strays from its nest. |
9Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the sweetness of a friend is better than self-counsel. | 9The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. |
10Don't abandon your friend or your father's friend, and don't go to your brother's house in your time of calamity; better a neighbor nearby than a brother 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 my heart joy, so that I can answer anyone who taunts me. | 11Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad. Then I will be able to answer my critics. |
12A sensible person sees danger and takes cover; the inexperienced keep going and are punished. | 12A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. |
13Take his garment, for he has put up security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for foreigners. | 13Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt. Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners. |
14If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse to him. | 14A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse! |
15An endless dripping on a rainy day and a nagging wife are alike. | 15A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day. |
16The one who controls her controls the wind and grasps oil with his right hand. | 16Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold something with greased hands. |
17Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. | 17As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. |
18Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever looks after his 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 the heart reflects the person. | 19As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. |
20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and people's eyes are never satisfied. | 20Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied. |
21A crucible for silver, and a smelter for gold, and a man for the words of his 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 with a pestle along with grain, you will not separate his foolishness from him. | 22You cannot separate fools from their foolishness, even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle. |
23Know well the condition of your flock, and pay attention to your herds, | 23Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, |
24for wealth is not forever; not even a crown lasts for all time. | 24for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation. |
25When hay is removed and new growth appears and the grain from the hills is gathered in, | 25After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears and the mountain grasses are gathered in, |
26lambs will provide your clothing, and goats, the price of a field; | 26your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will provide the price of a field. |
27there will be enough goat's milk for your food-- food for your household and nourishment for your female servants. | 27And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself, your family, and your servant girls. |
Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | 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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