Proverbs 26

¹Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,

honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,

an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

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

and a rod for the backs of fools!

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly,

or you yourself will be just like him.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly,

or he will be wise in his own eyes.

⁶Sending a message by the hands of a fool

is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.

⁷Like the useless legs of one who is lame

is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

⁸Like tying a stone in a sling

is the giving of honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand

is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds at random

is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.

¹¹As a dog returns to its vomit,

so fools repeat their folly.

¹²Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?

There is more hope for a fool than for them.

¹³A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,

a fierce lion roaming the streets!”

¹⁴As a door turns on its hinges,

so a sluggard turns on his bed.

¹⁵A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

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

¹⁶A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes

than seven people who answer discreetly.

¹⁷Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears

is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.

¹⁸Like a maniac shooting

flaming arrows of death

¹⁹is one who deceives their neighbor

and says, “I was only joking!”

²⁰Without wood a fire goes out;

without a gossip a quarrel dies down.

²¹As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,

so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

²²The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;

they go down to the inmost parts.

²³Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware

are fervent lips with an evil heart.

²⁴Enemies disguise themselves with their lips,

but in their hearts they harbor deceit.

²⁵Though their speech is charming, do not believe them,

for seven abominations fill their hearts.

²⁶Their malice may be concealed by deception,

but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit will fall into it;

if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it hurts,

and a flattering mouth works ruin.