1 An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends

and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.

2 Fools find no pleasure in understanding

but delight in airing their own opinions.

3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt,

and with shame comes reproach.

4 The words of the mouth are deep waters,

but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.

5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked

and so deprive the innocent of justice.

6 The lips of fools bring them strife,

and their mouths invite a beating.

7 The mouths of fools are their undoing,

and their lips are a snare to their very lives.

8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;

they go down to the inmost parts.

1 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;

he breaks out against all sound judgment.

2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only in expressing his opinion.

3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,

and with dishonor comes disgrace.

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

the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked

or to deprive the righteous of justice.

6 A fool’s lips walk into a fight,

and his mouth invites a beating.

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;

they go down into the inner parts of the body.

1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh

And intermeddleth with all wisdom.

2 A fool hath no delight in understanding,

But that his heart may discover itself.

3 When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt,

And with ignominy reproach.

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

And the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.

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

To overthrow the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calleth for strokes.

7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds,

And they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

1 Unfriendly people care only about themselves;

they lash out at common sense.

2 Fools have no interest in understanding;

they only want to air their own opinions.

3 Doing wrong leads to disgrace,

and scandalous behavior brings contempt.

4 Wise words are like deep waters;

wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.

5 It is not right to acquit the guilty

or deny justice to the innocent.

6 Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels;

they are asking for a beating.

7 The mouths of fools are their ruin;

they trap themselves with their lips.

8 Rumors are dainty morsels

that sink deep into one’s heart.

1 Unfriendly people are selfish

and hate all good sense.

2 Fools do not want to understand anything.

They only want to tell others what they think.

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

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

4 Spoken words can be like deep water,

but wisdom is like a flowing stream.

5 It is not good to honor the wicked

or to be unfair to the innocent.

6 The words of fools start quarrels.

They make people want to beat them.

7 The words of fools will ruin them;

their own words will trap them.

8 The words of a gossip are like tasty bits of food.

People like to gobble them up.

1 He that separateth himself seeketh his own desire,

And rageth against all sound wisdom.

2 A fool hath no delight in understanding,

But only that his heart may reveal itself.

3 When the wicked cometh, there cometh also contempt,

And with ignominy cometh reproach.

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

The wellspring of wisdom is as a flowing brook.

5 To respect the person of the wicked is not good,

Nor to turn aside the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calleth for stripes.

7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

8 The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels,

And they go down into the innermost parts.

1 He that separateth himself seeketh his pleasure, he is vehement against all sound wisdom.

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

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

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

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

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for stripes. 7 A fool’s mouth is destruction to him, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8 The words of a talebearer are as dainty morsels, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

1 A loner is out to get what he wants for himself. 

He opposes all sound reasoning. 

2 A fool does not find joy in understanding 

but only in expressing his own opinion. 

3 When wickedness comes, contempt also comes, 

and insult comes along with disgrace. 

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

The fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream. 

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

thereby depriving an innocent person of justice. 

6 By talking, a fool gets into an argument, 

and his mouth invites a beating. 

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin. 

His lips are a trap to his soul. 

8 The words of a gossip are swallowed greedily, 

and they go down into a person’s innermost being. 

1 One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires;

he rebels against all sound judgment.

2 A fool does not delight in understanding,

but only wants to show off his opinions.

3 When a wicked man comes, contempt also does,

and along with dishonor, disgrace.

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

a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.

5 It is not good to show partiality to the guilty

by perverting the justice due the innocent.

6 A fool’s lips lead to strife,

and his mouth provokes a beating.

7 A fool’s mouth is his devastation,

and his lips are a trap for his life.

8 A gossip’s words are like choice food

that goes down to one’s innermost being.

1 The one who lives alone is self-indulgent,

showing contempt for all who have sound judgment.

2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only in expressing personal opinion.

3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also;

and with dishonor comes disgrace.

4 The words of the mouth are deep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream.

5 It is not right to be partial to the guilty,

or to subvert the innocent in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips bring strife,

and a fool’s mouth invites a flogging.

7 The mouths of fools are their ruin,

and their lips a snare to themselves.

8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;

they go down into the inner parts of the body.

1 He who is selfish seeks a craving;

against all sound judgment he shows contempt.

2 A fool will not take pleasure in understanding,

but in expressing his heart.

3 With the coming of wickedness comes contempt also,

and with dishonor, disgrace.

4 Deep waters are words of the mouth of a man;

a gushing stream is a fountain of wisdom.

5 Being partial to faces of evil is not good,

nor to subvert the righteous at the judgment.

6 The lips of a fool will bring strife,

and his mouth calls out for a flogging.

7 The mouth of a fool is ruin to him,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8 The words of a whisper are like delicious morsels,

and they themselves go down to inner parts of the body.

1 A person who isn’t friendly looks out only for himself.

He opposes all good sense.

2 A foolish person doesn’t want to understand.

He takes delight in saying only what he thinks.

3 People hate it when evil comes.

And they refuse to honor those who bring shame.

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

But the fountain of wisdom is like a flowing stream.

5 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.

6 What a foolish person says leads to arguing.

He is just asking for a beating.

7 The words of a foolish person drag him down.

He is trapped by what he says.

8 The words of anyone who talks about others are like tasty bites of food.

They go deep down inside you.

1 He who separates himself seeks his own desire,

He quarrels against all sound wisdom.

2 A fool does not delight in understanding,

But only in revealing his own mind.

3 When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes,

And with dishonor comes scorn.

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

The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good,

Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips bring strife,

And his mouth calls for blows.

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

8 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,

And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.