A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son gives grief to his mother. | A wise child brings joy to a father; a foolish child brings grief to a mother. |
The Lord makes poor and makes rich, he humbles and he also exalts. | The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up. |
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The blessing of the Lord is what brings wealth, and our toil adds nothing to it. | The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. |
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who bears good news and proclaims glad tidings, announcing salvation and saying to Zion, “Your God is king.” | How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! |
The hope of the righteous brings them joy, but the expectations of the wicked are frustrated. | The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing. |
A man’s pride will bring him low, but lowly souls will rise to honor. | Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. |
A gift opens doors for the giver and wins him access to the powerful. | Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people! |
Such godly sorrow results in repentance that leads to salvation and causes no regret, whereas worldly sorrow produces death. | For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. |
Treasures obtained by wicked means profit nothing, but a righteous life brings delivery from death. | Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. |
A good man produces good from the store of goodness in his heart, whereas an evil man produces evil from the store of evil within him. For the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart. | A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. |
Diligent labor always yields profit, but idle conversation only leads to poverty. | Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty! |
For no one can be regarded as justified in the sight of God by keeping the Law. The Law brings only the consciousness of sin. | For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. |
To these God chose to make known how rich is the priceless glory that this mystery brings to the Gentiles—Christ in you, your hope of glory. | For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. |
The Lord watches over the stranger and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he blocks the way of the wicked. | The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. |
He gives a home to those who are forsaken and leads out prisoners amid chants of exultation, while rebels are forced to live in an arid land. | God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. |
A fool gives free rein to his anger, but a wise man bides his time and calms it. | Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. |
The fear of others will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is secure. | Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety. |
And a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” | And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” |
A generous person will be enriched; he who refreshes others will also be refreshed. | The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. |
By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. | When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. |
One who is covetous will never be satisfied with money, nor will the lover of wealth be content with gain. This too is vanity. | Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! |
One who gossips reveals secrets, but a trustworthy man keeps things hidden. | A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. |
Wait quietly for the Lord and be patient until he comes. Do not fret over the man who prospers because of his evil schemes. | Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. |
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, since it is the power of God that offers salvation to everyone who has faith—to Jews first, and then to Gentiles as well. | For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. |
While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud cast a shadow over them. Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” | But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” |