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Proverbs 18:2–7

2 A fool has no delight in understanding,

But in expressing his aown heart.

3 When the wicked comes, contempt comes also;

And with dishonor comes reproach.

4 bThe words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

cThe wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

5 It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,

Or to overthrow the righteous in djudgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calls for blows.

7 eA fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his fsoul.

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Proverbs 18:2–7 — The New International Version (NIV)

Fools find no pleasure in understanding

but delight in airing their own opinions.

When wickedness comes, so does contempt,

and with shame comes reproach.

The words of the mouth are deep waters,

but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.

It is not good to be partial to the wicked

and so deprive the innocent of justice.

The lips of fools bring them strife,

and their mouths invite a beating.

The mouths of fools are their undoing,

and their lips are a snare to their very lives.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — English Standard Version (ESV)

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only in expressing his opinion.

When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,

and with dishonor comes disgrace.

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

It is not good to be partial to the wicked

or to deprive the righteous of justice.

A fool’s lips walk into a fight,

and his mouth invites a beating.

A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

A fool hath no delight in understanding,

But that his heart may discover itself.

When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt,

And with ignominy reproach.

The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters,

And the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.

It is not good to accept the person of the wicked,

To overthrow the righteous in judgment.

A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calleth for strokes.

A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Fools have no interest in understanding;

they only want to air their own opinions.

Doing wrong leads to disgrace,

and scandalous behavior brings contempt.

Wise words are like deep waters;

wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.

It is not right to acquit the guilty

or deny justice to the innocent.

Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels;

they are asking for a beating.

The mouths of fools are their ruin;

they trap themselves with their lips.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — New Century Version (NCV)

Fools do not want to understand anything.

They only want to tell others what they think.

Do something evil, and people won’t like you.

Do something shameful, and they will make fun of you.

Spoken words can be like deep water,

but wisdom is like a flowing stream.

It is not good to honor the wicked

or to be unfair to the innocent.

The words of fools start quarrels.

They make people want to beat them.

The words of fools will ruin them;

their own words will trap them.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — American Standard Version (ASV)

A fool hath no delight in understanding,

But only that his heart may reveal itself.

When the wicked cometh, there cometh also contempt,

And with ignominy cometh reproach.

The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters;

The wellspring of wisdom is as a flowing brook.

To respect the person of the wicked is not good,

Nor to turn aside the righteous in judgment.

A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calleth for stripes.

A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

A fool hath no delight in understanding, but only that his heart may reveal itself.

When the wicked cometh, there cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, and the fountain of wisdom is a gushing brook.

It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to wrong the righteous in judgment.

A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for stripes. A fool’s mouth is destruction to him, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

A fool does not find joy in understanding 

but only in expressing his own opinion. 

When wickedness comes, contempt also comes, 

and insult comes along with disgrace. 

The words of a person’s mouth are like deep waters. 

The fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream. 

It is not good to be partial toward a wicked person, 

thereby depriving an innocent person of justice. 

By talking, a fool gets into an argument, 

and his mouth invites a beating. 

A fool’s mouth is his ruin. 

His lips are a trap to his soul. 

Proverbs 18:2–7 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

A fool does not delight in understanding,

but only wants to show off his opinions.

When a wicked man comes, contempt also does,

and along with dishonor, disgrace.

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters,

a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.

It is not good to show partiality to the guilty

by perverting the justice due the innocent.

A fool’s lips lead to strife,

and his mouth provokes a beating.

A fool’s mouth is his devastation,

and his lips are a trap for his life.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only in expressing personal opinion.

When wickedness comes, contempt comes also;

and with dishonor comes disgrace.

The words of the mouth are deep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream.

It is not right to be partial to the guilty,

or to subvert the innocent in judgment.

A fool’s lips bring strife,

and a fool’s mouth invites a flogging.

The mouths of fools are their ruin,

and their lips a snare to themselves.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

A fool will not take pleasure in understanding,

but in expressing his heart.

With the coming of wickedness comes contempt also,

and with dishonor, disgrace.

Deep waters are words of the mouth of a man;

a gushing stream is a fountain of wisdom.

Being partial to faces of evil is not good,

nor to subvert the righteous at the judgment.

The lips of a fool will bring strife,

and his mouth calls out for a flogging.

The mouth of a fool is ruin to him,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

A foolish person doesn’t want to understand.

He takes delight in saying only what he thinks.

People hate it when evil comes.

And they refuse to honor those who bring shame.

The words of a person’s mouth are like deep water.

But the fountain of wisdom is like a flowing stream.

It isn’t good to favor those who do wrong.

And it isn’t good to hold back what is fair from those who aren’t guilty.

What a foolish person says leads to arguing.

He is just asking for a beating.

The words of a foolish person drag him down.

He is trapped by what he says.

Proverbs 18:2–7 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

A fool does not delight in understanding,

But only in revealing his own mind.

When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes,

And with dishonor comes scorn.

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

To show partiality to the wicked is not good,

Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

A fool’s lips bring strife,

And his mouth calls for blows.

A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.


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