New Living Translation | NET Bible |
1The LORD detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights. | 1The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but an accurate weight is his delight. |
2Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. | 2When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. |
3Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. | 3The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the unfaithful destroys them. |
4Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. | 4Wealth does not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from mortal danger. |
5The godly are directed by honesty; the wicked fall beneath their load of sin. | 5The righteousness of the blameless will make straight their way, but the wicked person will fall by his own wickedness. |
6The godliness of good people rescues them; the ambition of treacherous people traps them. | 6The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, but the faithless will be captured by their own desires. |
7When the wicked die, their hopes die with them, for they rely on their own feeble strength. | 7When a wicked person dies, his expectation perishes, and the hope of his strength perishes. |
8The godly are rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead. | 8The righteous person is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked turns up in his stead. |
9With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous. | 9With his speech the godless person destroys his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous will be delivered. |
10The whole city celebrates when the godly succeed; they shout for joy when the wicked die. | 10When the righteous do well, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there is joy. |
11Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart. | 11A city is exalted by the blessing provided from the upright, but it is destroyed by the counsel of the wicked. |
12It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet. | 12The one who denounces his neighbor lacks wisdom, but the one who has discernment keeps silent. |
13A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. | 13The one who goes about slandering others reveals secrets, but the one who is trustworthy conceals a matter. |
14Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers. | 14When there is no guidance a nation falls, but there is success in the abundance of counselors. |
15There’s danger in putting up security for a stranger’s debt; it’s safer not to guarantee another person’s debt. | 15The one who puts up security for a stranger will surely have trouble, but whoever avoids shaking hands will be secure. |
16A gracious woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth. | 16A generous woman gains honor, and ruthless men seize wealth. |
17Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you. | 17A kind person benefits himself, but a cruel person brings himself trouble. |
18Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last. | 18The wicked person earns deceitful wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a genuine reward. |
19Godly people find life; evil people find death. | 19True righteousness leads to life, but the one who pursues evil pursues it to his own death. |
20The LORD detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity. | 20The LORD abhors those who are perverse in heart, but those who are blameless in their ways are his delight. |
21Evil people will surely be punished, but the children of the godly will go free. | 21Be assured that the evil person will certainly be punished, but the descendants of the righteous will not suffer unjust judgment. |
22A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout. | 22Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who rejects discretion. |
23The godly can look forward to a reward, while the wicked can expect only judgment. | 23What the righteous desire leads only to good, but what the wicked hope for leads to wrath. |
24Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. | 24One person is generous and yet grows more wealthy, but another withholds more than he should and comes to poverty. |
25The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. | 25A generous person will be enriched, and the one who provides water for others will himself be satisfied. |
26People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need. | 26People will curse the one who withholds grain, but they will praise the one who sells it. |
27If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you! | 27The one who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but the one who searches for evil--it will come to him. |
28Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring. | 28The one who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. |
29Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind. The fool will be a servant to the wise. | 29The one who troubles his family will inherit nothing, and the fool will be a servant to the wise person. |
30The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends. | 30The fruit of the righteous is like a tree producing life, and the one who wins souls is wise. |
31If the righteous are rewarded here on earth, what will happen to wicked sinners? | 31If the righteous are recompensed on earth, how much more the wicked sinner! |
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