| A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. | Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. |
| A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. | We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. |
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| As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. | As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. |
| The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. | The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. |
| A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men. | Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people! |
| The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke. | The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened. |
| For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. | Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. |
| There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. | You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. |
| The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. | The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. |
| The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. | Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words. |
| Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. | What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. |
| Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts. | People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart. |
| Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad. | Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. |
| The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar. | Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest. |
| Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. | Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. |
| Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. | That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. |
| Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. | Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. |
| If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. | If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. |
| And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. | Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” |
| But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. | But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. |
| I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. | So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. |
| For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. | For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. |
| Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. | Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” |
| In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. | There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? |
| But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. | But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. |
