Proverbs 26

¹Like snow in summer, like rain in harvest,

honor for a fool is out of place.

²Like the sparrow in its flitting, like the swallow in its flight,

a curse uncalled-for never lands.

³The whip for the horse, the bridle for the ass,

and the rod for the back of fools.

⁴Do not answer fools according to their folly,[#There is no contradiction between these two proverbs. In their answers, the wise must protect their own interests against fools. Or perhaps the juxtaposition of the two proverbs suggests that no single proverb can resolve every problem in life.]

lest you too become like them.

⁵Answer fools according to their folly,

lest they become wise in their own eyes.

⁶Those who send messages by a fool

cut off their feet; they drink down violence.

⁷A proverb in the mouth of a fool[#Fools either abuse or are unable to use whatever knowledge they have. : a proverb is “words spoken at the proper time” (25:11). Fools have no sense of the right time; their statements are like thorns that fasten on clothing randomly.]

hangs limp, like crippled legs.

⁸Giving honor to a fool

is like entangling a stone in the sling.

⁹A thorn stuck in the hand of a drunkard

is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰An archer wounding all who pass by

is anyone who hires a drunken fool.

¹¹As dogs return to their vomit,

so fools repeat their folly.

¹²You see those who are wise in their own eyes?

There is more hope for fools than for them.

¹³The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the street,[#Each verse mentions the sluggard, whom Proverbs regards with derision. The criticism is not against low energy but failure to act and take responsibility. Proverbs’ ideal is the active person who uses heart, lips, hands, feet to keep to the good path. The verses are examples of the sardonic humor of the book.]

a lion in the middle of the square!”

¹⁴The door turns on its hinges

and sluggards, on their beds.

¹⁵The sluggard buries a hand in the dish,

too weary to lift it to the mouth.

¹⁶In their own eyes sluggards are wiser

than seven who answer with good judgment.

¹⁷Whoever meddles in the quarrel of another

is one who grabs a passing dog by the ears.

¹⁸Like a crazed archer

scattering firebrands and deadly arrows,

¹⁹Such are those who deceive their neighbor,

and then say, “I was only joking.”

²⁰Without wood the fire dies out;[#The three proverbs have a common theme—the destructive power of slanderous words. Certain words are repeated: wood and fire, talebearer.]

without a talebearer strife subsides.

²¹Charcoal for coals, wood for fire—

such are the quarrelsome, enkindling strife.

²²The words of a talebearer are like dainty morsels:

they sink into one’s inmost being.

²³Like a glazed finish on earthenware

are smooth lips and a wicked heart.

²⁴With their lips enemies pretend,

but inwardly they maintain deceit;

²⁵When they speak graciously, do not trust them,[#Sir 12:10; 27:33.]

for seven abominations are in their hearts.

²⁶Hatred can be concealed by pretense,

but malice will be revealed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit falls into it;

and a stone comes back upon the one who rolls it.

²⁸The lying tongue is its owner’s enemy,

and the flattering mouth works ruin.