Old/New Testament
27 Never brag about what you will do in the future; you have no idea what tomorrow will bring.
2 Never praise yourself. Let others do it.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is hard to carry, but the irritation caused by a fool is much harder to bear.
4 Anger is cruel and can destroy like a flood, but jealousy is much worse.
5 Open criticism is better than hidden love.
6 You can trust what your friend says, even when it hurts. But your enemies want to hurt you, even when they act nice.
7 When you are full, you will not even eat honey. When you are hungry, even something bitter tastes sweet.
8 A man away from home is like a bird away from its nest.
9 Perfume and incense make you feel good, and so does good advice from a friend.
10 Don’t forget your own friends or your father’s friends. If you have a problem, go to your neighbor for help. It is better to ask a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.
11 My son, be wise. This will make me happy. Then I will be able to answer those who criticize me.
12 Wise people see trouble coming and get out of its way, but fools go straight to the trouble and suffer for it.
13 When you make a deal with a stranger, get something from him and any other foreigners with him to make sure he will pay you.
14 Don’t wake up your neighbors early in the morning with a shout of “Good morning!” They will treat it like a curse, not a blessing.
15 A complaining wife is like water that never stops dripping on a rainy day. 16 Stopping her is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold oil in your hand.
17 As one piece of iron sharpens another, so friends keep each other sharp.
18 People who take care of fig trees are allowed to eat the fruit. In the same way, people who take care of their masters will be rewarded.
19 Just as you can see your own face reflected in water, so your heart reflects the kind of person you are.
20 Just as the place of death and destruction is never full, people always want more and more.
21 People use fire to purify gold and silver. In the same way, you are tested by the praise people give you.
22 Even if you pound fools to powder like grain in a bowl, you will never force the foolishness out of them.
23 Learn all you can about your sheep. Take care of your goats the best you can. 24 Neither wealth nor nations last forever. 25 Cut the hay, and new grass will grow. Then gather the new plants that grow on the hills. 26 Cut the wool from your lambs, and make your clothes. Sell some of your goats, and buy some land. 27 Then there will be plenty of goat’s milk for you and your family, with enough to keep the servants healthy.
28 The wicked are afraid of everything, but those who live right are as brave as lions.
2 A lawless nation will have many bad leaders. But a smart leader will rule for a long time in a land where people obey the law.
3 A leader who takes advantage of the poor is like a hard rain that destroys the crops.[a]
4 Those who refuse to obey the law promote evil. Those who obey the law oppose evil.
5 The wicked don’t understand justice, but those who love the Lord understand it completely.
6 It is better to be poor and honest than rich and evil.
7 A smart son obeys the laws, but a son who spends time with worthless people brings shame to his father.
8 If you get rich by charging high interest rates, your wealth will go to someone who is kind to the poor.
9 When people do not listen to God’s teachings, he does not listen to their prayers.
10 Those who plan to hurt good people will fall into their own traps, but good things will happen to those who are good.
11 The rich always think they are wise, but a poor person who is wise can see the truth.
12 When good people become leaders, everything is great, but when the wicked rise to power, everyone hides.
13 Whoever hides their sins will not be successful, but whoever confesses their sins and stops doing wrong will receive mercy.
14 People who respect others will be blessed, but stubborn people will have plenty of troubles.
15 An evil ruler over those who are helpless is like an angry lion or a charging bear.
16 A foolish ruler hurts the people under him, but a ruler who hates wrong will rule for a long time.
17 A murderer will never have peace. Don’t support such a person.
18 Honest people will be safe, but dishonest people will be ruined.
19 Whoever works hard will have plenty to eat, but whoever wastes their time with dreams will always be poor.
20 People who can be trusted will have many blessings, but those who are just trying to get rich in a hurry will be punished.
21 It is wrong for a judge to support someone simply because he knows them. But some judges will change their decisions for the price of a loaf of bread.
22 Selfish people only want to get rich. They do not realize that they are very close to being poor.
23 Correct someone, and later they will thank you. That is much better than just saying something to be nice.
24 Someone might steal from their parents and say, “I did nothing wrong.” But that person is as bad as an enemy who smashes everything in the house.
25 Greedy people might sue you in court, but those who trust the Lord are rewarded.
26 It is foolish to be too confident. Those who ask for advice are wise and will escape disaster.
27 Whoever gives to the poor will have plenty. Whoever refuses to help them will get nothing but curses.
28 When the wicked rise to power, everyone hides. When they are defeated, good people multiply.
29 Some people refuse to bend when someone corrects them. Eventually they will break, and there will be no one to repair the damage.
2 When the rulers are good, the people are happy. When the rulers are evil, the people complain.
3 A son who loves wisdom makes his father happy. One who wastes his money on prostitutes will lose his wealth.
4 A nation will be strong when it has a fair and just king. A nation will be weak when it has a king who is selfish and demands gifts.
5 If you give false praise to others in order to get what you want, you are only setting a trap for yourself.
6 Evil people are defeated by their sin, but good people will sing and be happy.
7 Good people want to do what is right for the poor, but the wicked don’t care.
8 Proud people who laugh at what is right cause problems that divide whole cities, but people who are wise are able to calm those who are angry.
9 If someone who is wise tries to settle a problem with a fool, the fool will argue and say stupid things, and they will never agree.
10 If you always try to be honest, murderers will hate you, but those who do what is right will want you to be their friend.
11 Fools are quick to express their anger, but wise people are patient and control themselves.
12 If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be evil.
13 In one way the poor and those who steal from them are the same—the Lord made them both.
14 If a king judges the poor fairly, he will rule for a long time.
15 Punishment and discipline can make children wise, but children who are never corrected will bring shame to their mother.
16 If the wicked are ruling the nation, sin will be everywhere, but those who live right will win in the end.
17 Correct your children whenever they are wrong. Then you will always be proud of them. They will never make you ashamed.
18 If a nation is not guided by God, the people will lose self-control, but the nation that obeys God’s law will be happy.
19 Servants will not learn a lesson if you only talk to them. They might understand you, but they will not obey.
20 There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.
21 Give your servants everything they want, and they will learn to be wasteful.
22 An angry person causes arguments, and someone who is quick-tempered is guilty of many sins.
23 Your pride can bring you down. Humility will bring you honor.
24 You are your own worst enemy if you take part in a crime. You will not be able to tell the truth even when people threaten you.
25 Fear can be a trap, but if you trust in the Lord, you will be safe.
26 Many people want the friendship of a ruler, but the Lord is the only one who judges people fairly.
27 Good people think the wicked are disgusting, and the wicked feel disgust for those who are honest.
Paul Defends His Ministry
10 I, Paul, am begging you with the gentleness and the kindness of Christ. Some say that I am bold when I am writing you from a distance, but not when I am there with you. 2 They think our motives for what we do are like those of the world. I plan to be very bold against those people when I come. I hope I will not need to use that same boldness with you. 3 We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does. 4 The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments, 5 and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ. 6 We are ready to punish anyone there who does not obey, but first we want you to be fully obedient.
7 You must look at the facts before you. If you feel sure you belong to Christ, you must remember that we belong to Christ the same as you do. 8 It may seem as though we boast too much about the authority the Lord gave us. But he gave us this authority to strengthen you, not to hurt you. So I will not be ashamed of whatever boasting we do. 9 I don’t want you to think that I am trying to scare you with my letters. 10 Some people say, “Paul’s letters are powerful and sound important, but when he is with us, he is weak and the worst speaker you have ever heard.” 11 Those people should know this: When we are there with you, we will show the same power that we show now in our letters.
12 We don’t dare put ourselves in the same class with those who think they are so important. We don’t compare ourselves to them. They use themselves to measure themselves, and they judge themselves by what they themselves are. This shows that they know nothing.
13 But we will not boast about anything outside the work that was given us to do. We will limit our boasting to the work God gave us, but this work includes our work with you. 14 We would be boasting too much only if we had not already come to you. But we have come to you with the Good News about Christ. 15 We limit our boasting to the work that is ours. We don’t boast about the work other people have done. We hope that your faith will continue to grow. We hope that you will help our work to grow much larger. 16 We want to tell the Good News in the areas beyond your city. We don’t want to boast about work that has already been done in someone else’s area. 17 “Whoever boasts should boast only about the Lord.”[a] 18 What people say about themselves means nothing. What counts is whether the Lord says they have done well.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International