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