Proverbs 26

¹Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. ²Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest. ³A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools! ⁴Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. ⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. ⁶One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence. ⁷Like the legs of the lame that hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. ⁸As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool. ⁹Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. ¹⁰As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by. ¹¹As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly. ¹²Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. ¹³The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!” ¹⁴As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed. ¹⁵The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. ¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion. ¹⁷Like one who grabs a dog’s ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own. ¹⁸Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death, ¹⁹is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?” ²⁰For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down. ²¹As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife. ²²The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts. ²³Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart. ²⁴A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors evil in his heart. ²⁵When his speech is charming, don’t believe him; for there are seven abominations in his heart. ²⁶His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. ²⁷Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him. ²⁸A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.

World English Bible (public domain)