Proverbs 26

¹Like snow in summer , and as rain in harvest ,

so honour is not fitting for a fool .

²Like a fluttering sparrow ,

like a darting swallow ,

so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.

³A whip is for the horse ,

a bridle for the donkey ,

and a rod for the back of fools !

⁴Don’t answer a fool according to his folly,

lest you also be like him .

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly,

lest he be wise in his own eyes .

⁶One who sends a message by the hand of a fool

is cutting off feet and drinking violence .

⁷Like the legs of the lame that hang loose,

so is a parable in the mouth of fools .

⁸As one who binds a stone in a sling ,

so is he who gives honour to a fool .

⁹Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard ,

so is a parable in the mouth of fools .

¹⁰As an archer who wounds all ,

so is he who hires a fool

or he who hires those who pass by .

¹¹As a dog that returns to his vomit ,

so is a fool who repeats his folly.

¹²Do you see a man wise in his own eyes ?

There is more hope for a fool than for him .

¹³The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road !

A fierce lion roams the streets !”

¹⁴As the door turns on its hinges ,

so does the sluggard on his bed .

¹⁵The sluggard buries his hand in the dish .

He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth .

¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes

than seven men who answer with discretion .

¹⁷Like one who grabs a dog ’s ears

is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own .

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

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

²⁰For lack of wood a fire goes out .

Without gossip , a quarrel dies down .

²¹As coals are to hot embers ,

and wood to fire ,

so is a contentious man to kindling strife .

²²The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels ,

they go down into the innermost parts .

²³Like silver dross on an earthen vessel

are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart .

²⁴A malicious man disguises himself with his lips ,

but he harbours evil in his heart .

²⁵When his speech is charming, don’t believe him ,

for there are seven abominations in his heart .

²⁶His malice may be concealed by deception,

but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly .

²⁷Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it .

Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him .

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it hurts;

and a flattering mouth works ruin .