Old/New Testament
27 Do not talk much about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring.
2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth. Let a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is heavy, but to be made angry by a fool weighs more than both of them.
4 Anger causes trouble and a bad temper is like a flood, but who can stand when there is jealousy?
5 Sharp words spoken in the open are better than love that is hidden.
6 The pains given by a friend are faithful, but the kisses of one who hates you are false.
7 He who is full hates honey, but any bitter thing is sweet to a hungry man.
8 Like a bird that goes away from her nest, so is a man who goes away from his home.
9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, so are a man’s words sweet to his friend.
10 Do not leave your own friend or your father’s friend alone, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your trouble. A neighbor who is near is better than a brother who is far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, so I may answer him who puts me to shame.
12 A wise man sees sin and hides himself, but the fool goes on and suffers for it.
13 Take the man’s coat who has given himself as trust for what a stranger owes. And hold him to his promise who has given it as trust for a sinful woman.
14 He who praises his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning will be thought of as saying bad things against him.
15 An arguing woman is like water falling drop by drop on a day it is raining. 16 To try to stop her is like trying to stop the wind, or like trying to catch oil in his right hand.
17 Iron is made sharp with iron, and one man is made sharp by a friend.
18 He who cares for the fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who cares for the one he works for will be honored.
19 As water acts as a mirror to a face, so the heart of man acts as a mirror to a man.
20 The place of the dead is never filled, and the eyes of man are never filled.
21 The melting-pot is for silver and the fire for gold, and a man is tested by the praise he receives.
22 Even if you crush a fool in a pot used for crushing grain, his foolish way will not leave him.
23 Know well how your flocks are doing, and keep your mind on your cattle. 24 Riches do not last forever, and a crown does not pass from family to family. 25 When the grass is gone, the new plants are seen, and the plants of the mountains are gathered in. 26 The lambs will be for your clothes, and the goats will bring the price of a field. 27 There will be enough goats’ milk for your food, for the food of all your house, and a living for your young women.
28 The sinful run away when no one is trying to catch them, but those who are right with God have as much strength of heart as a lion.
2 When a nation sins, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and much learning, it will last a long time.
3 A poor man who makes it hard for the poor is like a heavy rain which leaves no food.
4 Those who turn away from the law praise the sinful, but those who keep the law fight against them.
5 Sinful men do not understand what is right and fair, but those who look to the Lord understand all things.
6 A poor man who walks in his honor is better than a rich man who is sinful in his ways.
7 He who keeps the law is a wise son, but a friend of men who eat too much puts his father to shame.
8 He who gets money by being paid much for the use of it, gathers it for him who will be kind to the poor.
9 He who turns his ear away from listening to the law, even his prayer is a hated thing.
10 He who leads good people into a sinful way will fall into his own deep hole, but good will come to those without blame.
11 The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but the poor man who has understanding sees through him.
12 When those who are right with God win, there is great honor, but when the sinful rule, men hide themselves.
13 It will not go well for the man who hides his sins, but he who tells his sins and turns from them will be given loving-pity.
14 Happy is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who makes his heart hard will fall into trouble.
15 A sinful ruler over poor people is like a lion making noise or a bear running to fight.
16 A ruler who takes much from the people who have little does not have understanding. But he who hates wanting something that belongs to someone else will live a long time.
17 A man who is loaded down with the guilt of human blood will run in fear until death. Let no one help him.
18 He who walks without blame will be kept safe, but he who is sinful will fall all at once.
19 He who works his land will have more than enough food, but he who wastes his time will become very poor.
20 A faithful man will have many good things, but he who hurries to be rich will be punished for it.
21 To show favor is not good, because a man will sin for a piece of bread.
22 A man with a sinful eye hurries to be rich. He does not know that he will be in need.
23 He who speaks strong words to a man will later find more favor than he who gives false respect with his tongue.
24 He who robs his father or his mother, and says, “It is not a sin,” is the friend of a man who destroys.
25 A proud man starts fights, but all will go well for the man who trusts in the Lord.
26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be kept safe.
27 He who gives to the poor will never want, but many bad things will happen to the man who shuts his eyes to the poor.
28 When the sinful rule, men hide themselves, but when they pass away, those who do what is right become many.
29 A man who does not listen after many strong words are spoken to him will be destroyed all at once and without help.
2 When those who are right with God rule, the people are glad, but when a sinful man rules, the people have sorrow.
3 A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but he who goes with women who sell the use of their bodies wastes his money.
4 The king makes the land strong by doing what is right and fair, but the one who takes pay for doing wrong, destroys it.
5 A man who gives his neighbor sweet-sounding words that are not true spreads a net for his own feet.
6 A sinful man is trapped by his sins, but a man who is right with God sings for joy.
7 The man who is right with God cares about the rights of poor people, but the sinful man does not understand such things.
8 Men who speak against others set a city on fire, but wise men turn away anger.
9 When a wise man argues with a foolish man, the fool only gets angry or laughs, and there is no peace and quiet.
10 Men who kill hate him without blame, but a good man cares for his life.
11 A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man keeps quiet.
12 If a ruler listens to lies, all who work for him will become sinful.
13 The Lord gives light to the eyes of both the poor man and the man who makes it hard for others.
14 If the king is fair as he judges the poor, his throne will stand forever.
15 The stick and strong words give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.
16 When the sinful are many, sins become many, but those who are right with God will see their fall.
17 Punish your son when he does wrong and he will give you comfort. Yes, he will give joy to your soul.
18 Where there is no understanding of the Word of the Lord, the people do whatever they want to, but happy is he who keeps the law.
19 A servant will not be taught by words alone. For even if he understands, he will not answer.
20 Do you see a man who is quick with his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
21 He who gives good care to his servant from the time he is young, will in the end find him to be a son.
22 A man of anger starts fights, and a man with a bad temper is full of wrong-doing.
23 A man’s pride will bring him down, but he whose spirit is without pride will receive honor.
24 He who works with a robber hates his own life. He knows about the bad that will come, but can tell nothing.
25 The fear of man brings a trap, but he who trusts in the Lord will be honored.
26 Many look for the ruler’s favor, but what is right and fair comes from the Lord.
27 A sinful man is a shame to those who are right with God, and he who is right with God is a shame to the sinful.
Paul Proves He Is a Missionary
10 I, Paul, ask you this myself. I do it through Christ Who is so gentle and kind. Some people say that I am gentle and quiet when I am with you, but that I have no fear and that my language is strong when I am away from you. 2 Do not make me speak strong words to you when I come. Some people think we want the things of the world because of what we do and say. I have decided to talk to these people if I have to. 3 It is true, we live in a body of flesh. But we do not fight like people of the world. 4 We do not use those things to fight with that the world uses. We use the things God gives to fight with and they have power. Those things God gives to fight with destroy the strong-places of the devil. 5 We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ. 6 We are ready to punish those who will not obey as soon as you obey in everything.
7 You are seeing things only as men see them. If anyone feels sure he belongs to Christ, he should remember that we belong to Christ also. 8 I am not ashamed if I say this of myself. The Lord gave me the right and the power to help you become stronger, not to break you down. 9 I do not want you to think I am trying to make you afraid with my letters. 10 They say, “His letters are strong and they make us think. When he is here with us, he is weak and he is hard to listen to.” 11 What we say in our letters we will do when we get there. They should understand this. 12 We do not compare ourselves with those who think they are good. They compare themselves with themselves. They decide what they think is good or bad and compare themselves with those ideas. They are foolish. 13 But we will not talk with pride more than God allows us to. We will follow the plan of the work He has given us to do and you are a part of that work. 14 We did not go farther than we were supposed to go when we came to you. But we did come to you with the Good News of Christ. 15 We take no pride in the work others have done there. But we hope your faith will keep growing because of help from others. Then we will grow because of you. 16 We hope to preach the Good News in the countries on the other side of you. Then we would take no pride in work done by another person in another country. 17 If anyone wants to be proud, he should be proud of what the Lord has done. 18 It is not what a man thinks and says of himself that is important. It is what God thinks of him.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.