¹Like snow in summer or rain at harvest-time,

so honor for a fool is out of place.

²Like a fluttering sparrow or a flying swallow,

an undeserved curse will come home to roost.

³A whip for a horse, a bridle for a donkey,

and a rod for the back of fools.

⁴Don’t answer a fool in terms of his folly,

or you will be descending to his level;

⁵but answer a fool as his folly deserves,

so that he won’t think he is wise.

⁶Telling a message to a fool and sending him out

is like cutting off one’s feet and drinking violence.

⁷The legs of the disabled hang limp and useless;

likewise a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

⁸Like one who ties his stone to the sling

is he who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn branch in the hand of a drunk

is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

¹⁰A master can make anything,

but hiring a fool is like hiring some passer-by.

¹¹Just as a dog returns to his vomit,

a fool repeats his folly.

¹²Do you see someone who thinks himself wise?

There is more hope for a fool than for him!

¹³The lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the streets!

A lion is roaming loose out there!”

¹⁴The door turns on its hinges,

and the lazy man on his bed.

¹⁵The lazy person buries his hand in the dish

but is too tired to return it to his mouth.

¹⁶A lazy man is wiser in his own view

than seven who can answer with sense.

¹⁷Like someone who grabs a dog by the ears

is a passer-by who mixes in a fight not his own.

¹⁸Like a madman shooting deadly arrows and firebrands

¹⁹is one who deceives another, then says, “It was just a joke.”

²⁰If there’s no wood, the fire goes out;

if nobody gossips, contention stops.

²¹As coals are to embers and wood to fire

is a quarrelsome person to kindling strife.

²²A slanderer’s words are tasty morsels;

they slide right down into the belly.

²³Like silver slag overlaid on a clay pot

are lips that burn [with friendship] over a hating heart.

²⁴He who hates may hide it with his speech;

but inside, he harbors deceit.

²⁵He may speak pleasantly, but don’t trust him;

for seven abominations are in his heart.

²⁶His hatred may be concealed by deceit,

but his wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,

and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.

²⁸A lying tongue hates its victims,

and a flattering mouth causes ruin.