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Proverbs 26

  1. 1<pb/><t>Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,</t> <t>honor is not fitting for a fool.</t>
  2. 2<t>Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,</t> <t>an undeserved curse does not come to rest.</t>
  3. 3<t>A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,</t> <t>and a rod for the backs of fools!</t>
  4. 4<t>Do not answer a fool according to his folly,</t> <t>or you yourself will be just like him.</t>
  5. 5<t>Answer a fool according to his folly,</t> <t>or he will be wise in his own eyes.</t>
  6. 6<t>Sending a message by the hands of a fool</t> <t>is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.</t>
  7. 7<t>Like the useless legs of one who is lame</t> <t>is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.</t>
  8. 8<t>Like tying a stone in a sling</t> <t>is the giving of honor to a fool.</t>
  9. 9<t>Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand</t> <t>is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.</t>
  10. 10<t>Like an archer who wounds at random</t> <t>is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.</t>
  11. 11<t>As a dog returns to its vomit,</t> <t>so fools repeat their folly.</t>
  12. 12<t>Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?</t> <t>There is more hope for a fool than for them. <pb/></t>
  13. 13<t>A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,</t> <t>a fierce lion roaming the streets!”</t>
  14. 14<t>As a door turns on its hinges,</t> <t>so a sluggard turns on his bed.</t>
  15. 15<t>A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;</t> <t>he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.</t>
  16. 16<t>A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes</t> <t>than seven people who answer discreetly. <pb/></t>
  17. 17<t>Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears</t> <t>is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own. <pb/></t>
  18. 18<t>Like a maniac shooting</t> <t>flaming arrows of death</t>
  19. 19<t>is one who deceives their neighbor</t> <t>and says, “I was only joking!” <pb/></t>
  20. 20<t>Without wood a fire goes out;</t> <t>without a gossip a quarrel dies down.</t>
  21. 21<t>As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,</t> <t>so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.</t>
  22. 22<t>The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;</t> <t>they go down to the inmost parts. <pb/></t>
  23. 23<t>Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware</t> <t>are fervent<f>[44]</f> lips with an evil heart.</t>
  24. 24<t>Enemies disguise themselves with their lips,</t> <t>but in their hearts they harbor deceit.</t>
  25. 25<t>Though their speech is charming, do not believe them,</t> <t>for seven abominations fill their hearts.</t>
  26. 26<t>Their malice may be concealed by deception,</t> <t>but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.</t>
  27. 27<t>Whoever digs a pit will fall into it;</t> <t>if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.</t>
  28. 28<t>A lying tongue hates those it hurts,</t> <t>and a flattering mouth works ruin.</t>