Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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Knowing When to Talk
1 A person can be rebuked in
the wrong way; it may be
wiser to keep quiet than to speak.
2 But it is much better to rebuke the
person than to keep your anger bottled
up.
3 Admit when you are
wrong, and you will avoid embarrassment.
4 Using force to get a point
across is like a castrated man trying
to rape a girl.
5 Some people are
thought to be wise because they
don't talk much; others are disliked
because they talk too much.
6 Some
people keep quiet because they don't
have anything to say; others keep
quiet because they know the right
time to speak.
7 A wise person will
not speak until the right moment,
but a bragging fool doesn't know
when that time is.
8 No one can
stand a person who talks too long
-- --
and will not give others a chance to
speak.
Sudden Changes of Fortune
9 Bad luck can sometimes lead to
success, and a stroke of good luck
can sometimes lead to loss.
10 Generosity will sometimes do
you no good, but at other times it
will repay you double.
11 Honor can be followed by disgrace,
but there are people who have
risen from obscurity to places of
honor.
12 Sometimes what seems like a
real bargain can turn out to be a
very expensive mistake.
13 When a person with good judgment
speaks, he wins friends. A stupid
person, though, can shower compliments
on everybody, and it won't
help him a bit.
14 If such a person
gives you something, it won't do any
good; it won't be as valuable as he
thinks it is. note
15 He isn't generous with
anything but criticism, which he will
shout for all the world to hear. If he
lends you something today, he'll
want it back tomorrow. (Don't you
hate people like that?)
16 Then that
fool will say, “Nobody likes me. Nobody
appreciates what I do for them.
They'll take what I give them, but
then talk about me behind my
back.”
17 And he's right—he's a constant
joke to everyone.
Inappropriate Talk
18 A slip of the tongue is worse
than a slip on the pavement; the
wicked will go to ruin just as suddenly
as a person slips and falls.
19 An impolite person is like one of
those off-color stories that ignorant
people are always telling.
20 Nobody takes a proverb seriously
when some fool quotes it at
the wrong time.
21 If a person is too poor to afford
sin, he can rest without a guilty conscience.
22 You can lose all your self-respect
by being reluctant to speak
up in the presence of stupidity.
23 If you promise a friend something
because you are too bashful to
say no, you're needlessly making an
enemy.
24 Lying is an ugly blot on a person's
character, but ignorant people
do it all the time.
25 A thief is better
than a habitual liar, but both are
headed for ruin.
26 A liar has no honor.
He lives in constant disgrace.
Stewardship of Wisdom
27 Speak wisely, and you will get
ahead in the world. Influential
-- --
people appreciate good sense.
28 They will excuse your errors if
they like you, so cultivate the soil
and reap the harvest!
29 Gifts and bribes make even wise
men blind to the truth, and prevent
them from being honest in their
criticism.
30 Wisdom that is not expressed is
like a treasure that has been hidden
—both are useless.
31 But a person
who covers up his foolishness is
better than one who keeps his wisdom
to himself.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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