Old/New Testament
25 These proverbs of Solomon[a] were discovered and copied by the aides of King Hezekiah of Judah:
2-3 It is God’s privilege to conceal things, and the king’s privilege to discover and invent. You cannot understand the height of heaven, the size of the earth, or all that goes on in the king’s mind!
4-5 When you remove dross from silver, you have sterling ready for the silversmith. When you remove corrupt men from the king’s court, his reign will be just and fair.
6-7 Don’t demand an audience with the king as though you were some powerful prince. It is better to wait for an invitation rather than to be sent back to the end of the line, publicly disgraced!
8-10 Don’t be hotheaded and rush to court! You may start something you can’t finish and go down before your neighbor in shameful defeat. So discuss the matter with him privately. Don’t tell anyone else, lest he accuse you of slander and you can’t withdraw what you said.
11 Timely advice is as lovely as gold apples in a silver basket.
12 It is a badge of honor to accept valid criticism.
13 A faithful employee is as refreshing as a cool day[b] in the hot summertime.
14 One who doesn’t give the gift he promised is like a cloud blowing over a desert without dropping any rain.
15 Be patient and you will finally win, for a soft tongue can break hard bones.
16 Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much of it, or it will make you sick!
17 Don’t visit your neighbor too often, or you will outwear your welcome!
18 Telling lies about someone is as harmful as hitting him with an ax, or wounding him with a sword, or shooting him with a sharp arrow.
19 Putting confidence in an unreliable man is like chewing with a sore tooth, or trying to run on a broken foot.
20 Being happy-go-lucky around a person whose heart is heavy is as bad as stealing his jacket in cold weather or rubbing salt in his wounds.[c]
21-22 If your enemy is hungry, give him food! If he is thirsty, give him something to drink! This will make him feel ashamed of himself, and God will reward you.
23 As surely as a wind from the north brings cold,[d] just as surely a retort causes anger!
24 It is better to live in a corner of an attic than in a beautiful home with a cranky, quarrelsome woman.
25 Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.
26 If a godly man compromises with the wicked, it is like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.
27 Just as it is harmful to eat too much honey, so also it is bad for men to think about all the honors they deserve!
28 A man without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls.
26 Honor doesn’t go with fools any more than snow with summertime or rain with harvesttime!
2 An undeserved curse has no effect. Its intended victim will be no more harmed by it than by a sparrow or swallow flitting through the sky.
3 Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle, and a rebel with a rod to his back!
4-5 When arguing with a rebel, don’t use foolish arguments as he does, or you will become as foolish as he is! Prick his conceit with silly replies![e]
6 To trust a rebel to convey a message is as foolish as cutting off your feet and drinking poison!
7 In the mouth of a fool a proverb becomes as useless as a paralyzed leg.
8 Honoring a rebel will backfire like a stone tied to a slingshot!
9 A rebel will misapply an illustration so that its point will no more be felt than a thorn in the hand of a drunkard.
10 The master may get better work from an untrained apprentice than from a skilled rebel!
11 As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
12 There is one thing worse than a fool, and that is a man who is conceited.
13 The lazy man won’t go out and work. “There might be a lion outside!” he says. 14 He sticks to his bed like a door to its hinges! 15 He is too tired even to lift his food from his dish to his mouth! 16 Yet in his own opinion he is smarter than seven wise men.
17 Yanking a dog’s ears is no more foolish than interfering in an argument that isn’t any of your business.
18-19 A man who is caught lying to his neighbor and says, “I was just fooling,” is like a madman throwing around firebrands, arrows, and death!
20 Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and tensions disappear when gossip stops.
21 A quarrelsome man starts fights as easily as a match sets fire to paper.[f]
22 Gossip is a dainty morsel eaten with great relish.
23 Pretty words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a common clay pot.
24-26 A man with hate in his heart may sound pleasant enough, but don’t believe him; for he is cursing you in his heart. Though he pretends to be so kind, his hatred will finally come to light for all to see.
27 The man who sets a trap for others will get caught in it himself. Roll a boulder down on someone, and it will roll back and crush you.
28 Flattery is a form of hatred and wounds cruelly.
9 I realize that I really don’t even need to mention this to you, about helping God’s people. 2 For I know how eager you are to do it, and I have boasted to the friends in Macedonia that you were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was this enthusiasm of yours that stirred up many of them to begin helping. 3 But I am sending these men just to be sure that you really are ready, as I told them you would be, with your money all collected; I don’t want it to turn out that this time I was wrong in my boasting about you. 4 I would be very much ashamed—and so would you—if some of these Macedonian people come with me, only to find that you still aren’t ready after all I have told them!
5 So I have asked these other brothers to arrive ahead of me to see that the gift you promised is on hand and waiting. I want it to be a real gift and not look as if it were being given under pressure.
6 But remember this—if you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much. 7 Everyone must make up his own mind as to how much he should give. Don’t force anyone to give more than he really wants to, for cheerful givers are the ones God prizes. 8 God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more so that there will not only be enough for your own needs but plenty left over to give joyfully to others. 9 It is as the Scriptures say: “The godly man gives generously to the poor. His good deeds will be an honor to him forever.”
10 For God, who gives seed to the farmer to plant, and later on good crops to harvest and eat, will give you more and more seed to plant and will make it grow so that you can give away more and more fruit from your harvest.
11 Yes, God will give you much so that you can give away much, and when we take your gifts to those who need them they will break out into thanksgiving and praise to God for your help. 12 So two good things happen as a result of your gifts—those in need are helped, and they overflow with thanks to God. 13 Those you help will be glad not only because of your generous gifts to themselves and to others, but they will praise God for this proof that your deeds are as good as your doctrine. 14 And they will pray for you with deep fervor and feeling because of the wonderful grace of God shown through you.
15 Thank God for his Son—his Gift too wonderful for words.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.