| The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. | Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment. |
| Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. | Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. |
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| How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver! | How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver! |
| Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. | Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. |
| And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. | What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord. |
| Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. | All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. |
| Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. | So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. |
| You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. | You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. |
| 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. | 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. |
| A person’s riches may ransom their life, but the poor cannot respond to threatening rebukes. | The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened. |
| A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. | Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last. |
| These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. | And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. |
| But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. | But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. |
| Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. | Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. |
| Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding. | Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. |
| The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper. | To acquire wisdom is to love yourself; people who cherish understanding will prosper. |
| A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. | The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. |
| Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. | Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. |
| Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. | Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil. |
| Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. | Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. |
| Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. | Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. |
| Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. | Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. |
| So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. | When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. |
| Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. | Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. |
| The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating. | Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating. |
