Proverbs26

¹ Honor is no more associated with fools than snow with summer or rain with harvest.

² Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.

³ Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle, and a fool with a rod to his back!

⁴ Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.

⁵ Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.

⁶ Trusting a fool to convey a message is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison!

⁷ A proverb in the mouth of a fool is as useless as a paralyzed leg.

⁸ Honoring a fool is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.

⁹ A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.

¹⁰ An employer who hires a fool or a bystander is like an archer who shoots at random.

¹¹ As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.

¹² There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise.

¹³ The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”

¹⁴ As a door swings back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed.

¹⁵ Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth.

¹⁶ Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors.

¹⁷ Interfering in someone else’s argument is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears.

¹⁸ Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon

¹⁹ is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking.”

²⁰ Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.

²¹ A quarrelsome person starts fights as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood.

²² Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.

²³ Smooth words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a clay pot.

²⁴ People may cover their hatred with pleasant words, but they’re deceiving you.

²⁵ They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them. Their hearts are full of many evils.

²⁶ While their hatred may be concealed by trickery, their wrongdoing will be exposed in public.

²⁷ If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead.

²⁸ A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattering words cause ruin.