Old/New Testament
27 Do not boast[a] about tomorrow;[b]
for you do not know[c] what a day may bring forth.
2 Let another[d] praise you, and not your own mouth;[e]
someone else,[f] and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
but vexation[g] by a fool is more burdensome[h] than the two of them.
4 Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming,[i]
but who can stand before jealousy?[j]
5 Better is open[k] rebuke
than hidden[l] love.
6 Faithful[m] are the wounds of a friend,
but the kisses[n] of an enemy are excessive.[o]
7 The one whose appetite[p] is satisfied loathes honey,
but to the hungry mouth[q] every bitter thing is sweet.
8 Like a bird that wanders[r] from its nest,
so is a person who wanders from his home.[s]
9 Ointment and incense make the heart rejoice,[t]
likewise the sweetness of one’s friend from sincere counsel.[u]
10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,
and do not enter your brother’s house in the day of your disaster;
a neighbor nearby is better than a brother far away.[v]
11 Be wise, my son,[w] and make my heart glad,
so that I may answer[x] anyone who taunts me.[y]
12 A shrewd person saw[z] danger—he hid himself;
the naive[aa] passed right on by[ab]—they had to pay[ac] for it.
13 Take a man’s[ad] garment when he has given security for a stranger,
and hold him in pledge on behalf of a stranger.[ae]
14 If someone blesses[af] his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,[ag]
it will be counted as a curse to him.[ah]
15 A continual dripping on a rainy day—
a contentious wife[ai] makes herself like that.[aj]
16 Whoever contains her has contained[ak] the wind[al]
or can grasp[am] oil with his right hand.[an]
17 As[ao] iron sharpens[ap] iron,
so a person[aq] sharpens his friend.[ar]
18 The one who tends a fig tree[as] will eat its fruit,[at]
and whoever takes care of[au] his master will be honored.
19 As in water the face is reflected as a face,[av]
so a person’s heart[aw] reflects the person.
20 As[ax] Death and Destruction are never satisfied,[ay]
so the eyes of a person[az] are never satisfied.[ba]
21 As the crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold,[bb]
so a person[bc] must put[bd] his praise[be] to the test.
22 If you should pound[bf] the fool in the mortar
among the grain[bg] with the pestle,
his foolishness would not depart from him.[bh]
23 Pay careful attention to[bi] the condition of your flocks,[bj]
set your mind[bk] on your herds,
24 for riches do not last[bl] forever,
nor does a crown last[bm] from generation to generation.
25 When the hay is removed and new grass appears,
and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
26 the lambs will be for your clothing,
and the goats will be for the price of a field.[bn]
27 And there will be enough goat’s milk for your food,[bo]
for the food of your household,
and for the sustenance[bp] of your servant girls.
28 The wicked person fled,[bq] though no one was pursuing,[br]
but the righteous person can be as confident[bs] as a lion.
2 When a country is rebellious[bt] it has many princes,[bu]
but by someone who is discerning and knowledgeable[bv] order is maintained.[bw]
3 A poor person[bx] who oppresses the weak
is like[by] a driving rain without food.[bz]
4 Those who forsake the law[ca] praise the wicked,[cb]
but those who keep the law contend[cc] with them.
5 Evil people[cd] do not understand justice,[ce]
but those who seek the Lord[cf] understand it all.
6 A poor person[cg] who walks in his integrity is better
than one who is perverse in his ways[ch] even though[ci] he is rich.[cj]
7 The one who keeps the law[ck] is a discerning child,[cl]
but a companion of gluttons brings shame to[cm] his parents.[cn]
8 The one who increases his wealth by increasing interest[co]
gathers it for someone who is gracious[cp] to the needy.
9 The one who turns away his ear[cq] from hearing the law,
even his prayer[cr] is an abomination.[cs]
10 The one who leads the upright astray in an evil way
will himself fall into his own pit,[ct]
but the blameless will inherit what is good.[cu]
11 A rich person[cv] is wise in his own opinion,[cw]
but a discerning poor person can evaluate him properly.[cx]
12 When the righteous rejoice,[cy] great is the glory,[cz]
but when the wicked rise to power, people are sought out.[da]
13 The one who covers[db] his transgressions will not prosper,[dc]
but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy.[dd]
14 Blessed is the one who is always cautious,[de]
but whoever hardens his heart[df] will fall into evil.
15 Like[dg] a roaring lion or a roving bear,[dh]
so is a wicked ruler over a poor people.[di]
16 The prince who is a great oppressor lacks wisdom,[dj]
but the one who hates[dk] unjust gain will prolong his days.
17 The one who is tormented[dl] by the murder[dm] of another will flee to the pit;[dn]
let no one support him.
18 The one who walks blamelessly will be delivered,[do]
but whoever is perverse in his ways will fall[dp] at once.[dq]
19 The one who works his land will be satisfied with food,[dr]
but whoever chases daydreams[ds] will have his fill[dt] of poverty.
20 A faithful person[du] will have an abundance of blessings,
but the one who hastens[dv] to gain riches will not go unpunished.
21 To show partiality[dw] is terrible,[dx]
for a person will transgress over the smallest piece of bread.[dy]
22 The stingy person[dz] hastens after riches
and does not know that poverty will overtake him.[ea]
23 The one who reproves[eb] another[ec] will in the end[ed] find more favor
than the one who flatters[ee] with the tongue.
24 The one who robs[ef] his father and mother and says, “There is no transgression,”
is a companion[eg] to the one[eh] who destroys.
25 The greedy person[ei] stirs up dissension,[ej]
but the one who trusts[ek] in the Lord will prosper.[el]
26 The one who trusts in his own heart[em] is a fool,
but the one who walks in wisdom[en] will escape.[eo]
27 The one who gives to the poor will not lack,[ep]
but whoever shuts his eyes to them[eq] will receive[er] many curses.[es]
28 When the wicked gain control,[et] people[eu] hide themselves,[ev]
but when they perish,[ew] the righteous increase.
29 The one who stiffens his neck[ex] after numerous rebukes[ey]
will suddenly be destroyed[ez] without remedy.[fa]
2 When the righteous become numerous,[fb] the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan.[fc]
3 The man[fd] who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,[fe]
but whoever associates[ff] with prostitutes wastes[fg] his wealth.[fh]
4 A king brings stability to[fi] a land[fj] by justice,
but one who exacts tribute[fk] tears it down.
5 The one[fl] who flatters[fm] his neighbor
spreads a net[fn] for his steps.[fo]
6 In the transgression of an evil person there is a snare,[fp]
but a righteous person can sing[fq] and rejoice.[fr]
7 The righteous person cares for[fs] the legal rights[ft] of the poor;
the wicked person does not understand such[fu] knowledge.
8 Scornful people[fv] inflame[fw] a city,[fx]
but those who are wise turn away wrath.
9 When[fy] a wise person goes to court[fz] with a foolish person,
there is no peace[ga] whether he is angry or laughs.[gb]
10 Bloodthirsty people[gc] hate someone with integrity;[gd]
as for the upright, they seek his life.[ge]
11 A fool lets fly with all his temper,[gf]
but a wise person keeps it back.[gg]
12 If a ruler listens to[gh] lies,[gi]
all his ministers[gj] will be wicked.[gk]
13 The poor person and the oppressor[gl] have this in common:[gm]
the Lord gives light[gn] to the eyes of them both.
14 If a king judges the poor in truth,[go]
his throne[gp] will be established forever.
15 A rod and reproof[gq] impart[gr] wisdom,
but a child who is unrestrained[gs] brings shame to[gt] his mother.[gu]
16 When the wicked increase,[gv] transgression increases,
but the righteous will see[gw] their downfall.
17 Discipline your child, and he will give you rest;[gx]
he will bring you[gy] happiness.[gz]
18 When there is no prophetic vision[ha] the people cast off restraint,[hb]
but the one who keeps the law,[hc] blessed is he![hd]
19 A servant[he] cannot be corrected[hf] by words,
for although[hg] he understands, there is no answer.[hh]
20 You have seen[hi] someone[hj] who is hasty in his words[hk]—
there is more hope for a fool than for him.[hl]
21 If[hm] someone pampers his servant from youth,
he will be a weakling[hn] in the end.
22 An angry person[ho] stirs up dissension,
and a wrathful person[hp] is abounding in transgression.[hq]
23 A person’s pride[hr] will bring him low,[hs]
but one who has a lowly spirit[ht] will gain honor.
24 Whoever shares with a thief[hu] is his own enemy;[hv]
he hears the oath to testify,[hw] but does not talk.
25 The fear of people[hx] becomes[hy] a snare,[hz]
but whoever trusts in the Lord will be set on high.[ia]
26 Many people seek the face[ib] of a ruler,
but it is from the Lord that one receives justice.[ic]
27 An unjust person is an abomination to the righteous,
and the one who lives an upright life[id] is an abomination to the wicked.
Paul’s Authority from the Lord
10 Now I, Paul, appeal to you[a] personally[b] by the meekness and gentleness[c] of Christ (I who am meek[d] when present among[e] you, but am full of courage[f] toward you when away!)— 2 now I ask that when I am present I may not have to be bold with the confidence that (I expect) I will dare to use against some who consider us to be behaving[g] according to human standards.[h] 3 For though we live[i] as human beings,[j] we do not wage war according to human standards,[k] 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons,[l] but are made powerful by God[m] for tearing down strongholds.[n] We tear down arguments[o] 5 and every arrogant obstacle[p] that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey[q] Christ. 6 We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience,[r] whenever your obedience is complete. 7 You are looking at outward appearances.[s] If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should reflect on this again: Just as he himself belongs to Christ, so too do we. 8 For if I boast somewhat more about our authority that the Lord gave us[t] for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of doing so.[u] 9 I do not want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters, 10 because some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is weak[v] and his speech is of no account.”[w] 11 Let such a person consider this: What we say[x] by letters when we are absent, we also are in actions when we are present.
Paul’s Mission
12 For we would not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who recommend themselves. But when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.[y] 13 But we will not boast beyond certain limits,[z] but will confine our boasting[aa] according to the limits of the work to which God has appointed us,[ab] that reaches even as far as you. 14 For we were not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach as far as you, because we were the first to reach as far as you with the gospel about Christ.[ac] 15 Nor do we boast beyond certain limits[ad] in the work[ae] done by others, but we hope[af] that as your faith continues to grow, our work may be greatly expanded[ag] among you according to our limits,[ah] 16 so that we may preach the gospel in the regions that lie beyond you, and not boast of work already done in another person’s area. 17 But the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.[ai] 18 For it is not the person who commends himself who is approved, but the person the Lord commends.
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