| Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool. | Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool. |
| A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted. | Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. |
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| Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. | The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. |
| Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent. | Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. |
| The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. | For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. |
| But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. | Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. |
| Eloquent words are not fitting for a fool; even less are lies fitting for a ruler. | Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler! |
| The words of the godly are like sterling silver; the heart of a fool is worthless. | The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value. |
| Only a fool despises a parent’s discipline; whoever learns from correction is wise. | A fool spurns a parent’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence. |
| That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? | Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? |
| That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. | Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. |
| I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food. | I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. |
| “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) | “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) |
| And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” | He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” |
| So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! | Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. |
| And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” | Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” |
| John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” | John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” |
| So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. | Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. |
| When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. | When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. |
| Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.” | Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” |
| You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. | Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you. |
| Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. | Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. |
| John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. | John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. |
| Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. | The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. |
| All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed. | I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. |
