| A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother. | A wise child brings joy to a father; a foolish child brings grief to a mother. |
| Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor. | Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. |
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| Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings 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. |
| The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it. | The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. |
| The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. | The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up. |
| All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. | Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty! |
| A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. | 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. |
| How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” | 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! |
| A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. | Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people! |
| For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. | 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. |
| The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing. | The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing. |
| The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways 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. |
| God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched 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. |
| Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. | Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. |
| Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. | Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety. |
| And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him 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 prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. | The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. |
| This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. | When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. |
| Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death. | Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. |
| Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. | Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! |
| A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. | A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. |
| Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our 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 them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the 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. |
| Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked 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. |
| While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him 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.” |
