PROVERBS
CHAPTER 26

¹ Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool.

² Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

³ A whip for the horse, a halter for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools!

⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself.

⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.

⁶ Like cutting off one's feet or drinking violence
is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.

⁷ Like a lame man's legs that hang limp
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

⁸ Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.

⁹ Like a thornbush in a drunkard's hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

¹⁰ Like an archer who wounds at random
is he who hires a fool or any passer-by.

¹¹ As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly.

¹² Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³ The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!"

¹⁴ As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.

¹⁵ The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶ The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who answer discreetly.

¹⁷ Like one who seizes a dog by the ears
is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

¹⁸ Like a madman shooting
firebrands or deadly arrows
¹⁹ is a man who deceives his neighbor
and says, "I was only joking!"

²⁰ Without wood a fire goes out;
without gossip a quarrel dies down.

²¹ As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

²² The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to a man's inmost parts.

²³ Like a coating of glaze ^[1] over earthenware
are fervent lips with an evil heart.

²⁴ A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,
but in his heart he harbors deceit.
²⁵ Though his speech is charming, do not believe him,
for seven abominations fill his heart.
²⁶ His malice may be concealed by deception,
but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷ If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it;
if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.

²⁸ A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.

Footnotes

1. 26:23 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text of silver dross

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Bible text from Gospelcom.net.  Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

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