A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. | A perverse man sows strife, and a tale-bearer destroys close friendships. |
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. | 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. |
Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. | A fool gives free rein to his anger, but a wise man bides his time and calms it. |
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. | The Lord makes a man’s steps secure when he approves of his conduct. |
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? | What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his very life? |
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. | Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A person will reap only what he sows. |
And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. | The Lord God made clothing for the man and woman out of animal skins and he clothed them. |
There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. | There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it leads to death. |
Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor. | A man is haughty until disaster overtakes him, but humility comes before honors. |
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. | God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. |
The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened. | A wealthy man pays a ransom to save his life; a poor man never has to worry about such threats. |
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” | But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or how tall he stands, for the Lord has rejected him. He does not see the way that men see, for men look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” |
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. | It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to place your trust in mortals. |
And he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ | In the netherworld, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham, far off, and Lazarus by his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’ |
Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! | A man is joyful when he utters apt answers, and even more satisfying is a word in season. |
Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. | Do not let kindness and fidelity leave you; fasten them around your neck and inscribe them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will gain favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. |
Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. | Alleluia. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his precepts. |
No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. | And just as no human being comprehends any person’s innermost being except the person’s own spirit within him, so also no one comprehends what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. |
He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” | He replied, “What is impossible for men is possible for God.” |
And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath. | How much more valuable a man is than a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. |
Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. | The Lord God said, “Behold, man has become like one of us, for he has knowledge of that which is good and that which is evil. Now, we must prevent him from reaching out and taking the fruit of the tree of life lest he eat it and live forever.” The Lord God cast him out of the Garden of Eden; henceforth he was to labor tilling the soil from which he had come. |
Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? | Or can a man walk on red-hot coals without scorching his feet? |
People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart. | A man’s ways may seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart. |
Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. | It is honorable to avoid strife, but every fool is quarrelsome. |
Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. | For all of us fall short in many ways. Anyone who never makes a mistake in speech has reached perfection and is able to control every part of his body. |
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