Proverbs 26

¹ Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

² Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.

³ A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools!

⁴ Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.

⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

⁶ One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.

⁷ Like the legs of the lame that hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

⁸ As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.

⁹ Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰ As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by.

¹¹ As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.

¹² Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³ The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!”

¹⁴ As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.

¹⁵ The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶ The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.

¹⁷ Like one who grabs a dog’s ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.

¹⁸ Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,

¹⁹ is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?”

²⁰ For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.

²¹ As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife.

²² The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts.

²³ Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.

²⁴ A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors evil in his heart.

²⁵ When his speech is charming, don’t believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.

²⁶ His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷ Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

²⁸ A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.