Proverbs 26

¹Honor is no more associated with fools

than snow with summer or rain with harvest.

²Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,

an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.

³Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle,

and a fool with a rod to his back!

⁴Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools,

or you will become as foolish as they are.

⁵Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools,

or they will become wise in their own estimation.

⁶Trusting a fool to convey a message

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

⁷A proverb in the mouth of a fool

is as useless as a paralyzed leg.

⁸Honoring a fool

is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.

⁹A proverb in the mouth of a fool

is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.

¹⁰An employer who hires a fool or a bystander

is like an archer who shoots at random.

¹¹As a dog returns to its vomit,

so a fool repeats his foolishness.

¹²There is more hope for fools

than for people who think they are wise.

¹³The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road!

Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”

¹⁴As a door swings back and forth on its hinges,

so the lazy person turns over in bed.

¹⁵Lazy people take food in their hand

but don’t even lift it to their mouth.

¹⁶Lazy people consider themselves smarter

than seven wise counselors.

¹⁷Interfering in someone else’s argument

is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears.

¹⁸Just as damaging

as a madman shooting a deadly weapon

¹⁹is someone who lies to a friend

and then says, “I was only joking.”

²⁰Fire goes out without wood,

and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.

²¹A quarrelsome person starts fights

as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood.

²²Rumors are dainty morsels

that sink deep into one’s heart.

²³Smooth^a words may hide a wicked heart,

just as a pretty glaze covers a clay pot.

²⁴People may cover their hatred with pleasant words,

but they’re deceiving you.

²⁵They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them.

Their hearts are full of many evils.^b

²⁶While their hatred may be concealed by trickery,

their wrongdoing will be exposed in public.

²⁷If 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.

²⁸A lying tongue hates its victims,

and flattering words cause ruin.