Proverbs 26
1 Like snow in summer and rain when the grain is being cut, so honour is not natural for the foolish.
In the manner of snow in the summer, and rain at the harvest, so also is glory unfit for the foolish.
2 As the sparrow in her wandering and the swallow in her flight, so the curse does not come without a cause.
Like a bird flying away to another place, and like a sparrow that hurries away freely, so also a curse uttered against someone without cause will pass away.
3 A whip for the horse, a mouth-bit for the ass, and a rod for the back of the foolish.
A whip is for a horse, and a muzzle is for donkey, and a rod is for the back of the imprudent.
4 Do not give to the foolish man a foolish answer, or you will be like him.
Do not respond to the foolish according to his folly, lest you become like him.
5 Give a foolish man a foolish answer, or he will seem wise to himself.
Respond to the foolish according to his folly, lest he imagine himself to be wise.
6 He who sends news by the hand of a foolish man is cutting off his feet and drinking in damage.
Whoever sends words by a foolish messenger has lame feet and drinks iniquity.
7 The legs of one who has no power of walking are hanging loose; so is a wise saying in the mouth of the foolish.
In the manner of a lame man who has beautiful legs to no purpose, so also is a parable unfit for the mouth of the foolish.
8 Giving honour to a foolish man is like attempting to keep a stone fixed in a cord.
Just like one who casts a stone into the pile of Mercury, so also is he who gives honor to the foolish.
9 Like a thorn which goes up into the hand of a man overcome by drink, so is a wise saying in the mouth of a foolish man.
In the manner of a thorn, if it were to spring up from the hand of a drunkard, so also is a parable in the mouth of the foolish.
10 Like an archer wounding all who go by, is a foolish man overcome by drink.
Judgment determines cases. And whoever imposes silence on the foolish mitigates anger.
11 Like a dog going back to the food which he has not been able to keep down, is the foolish man doing his foolish acts over again.
Like a dog that returns to his vomit, so also is the imprudent who repeats his foolishness.
12 Have you seen a man who seems to himself to be wise? There is more hope for the foolish than for him.
Have you seen a man who seems wise to himself? There will be greater hope held for the unwise than for him.
13 The hater of work says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
The lazy one says, “There is a lion along the way, and a lioness in the roads.”
14 A door is turned on its pillar, and the hater of work on his bed.
Just as a door turns upon its hinges, so also does the lazy one turn upon his bed.
15 The hater of work puts his hand deep into the basin: lifting it again to his mouth is a weariness to him.
The lazy one conceals his hand under his arms, and it is a labor for him to move it to his mouth.
16 The hater of work seems to himself wiser than seven men who are able to give an answer with good sense.
The lazy one seems wiser to himself than seven men speaking judgments.
17 He who gets mixed up in a fight which is not his business, is like one who takes a dog by the ears while it is going by.
Just like one who takes hold of a dog by the ears, so also is he who crosses impatiently and meddles in the quarrels of another.
18 As one who is off his head sends about flaming sticks and arrows of death,
Just as he is guilty who let loose the arrows and the lances unto death,
19 So is the man who gets the better of his neighbour by deceit, and says, Am I not doing so in sport?
so also is the man who harms his friend by deceitfulness. And when he has been apprehended, he says, “I did it jokingly.”
20 Without wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no secret talk, argument is ended.
When the wood fails, the fire will be extinguished. And when the gossiper is taken away, conflicts will be quelled.
21 Like breath on coals and wood on fire, so a man given to argument gets a fight started.
Just as charcoals are to burning coals, and wood is to fire, so also is an angry man who stirs up quarrels.
22 The words of one who says evil of his neighbour secretly are like sweet food, they go down into the inner parts of the stomach.
The words of a whisperer seem simple, but they penetrate to the innermost parts of the self.
23 Smooth lips and an evil heart are like a vessel of earth plated with silver waste.
In the same manner as an earthen vessel, if it were adorned with impure silver, conceited lips are allied with a wicked heart.
24 With his lips the hater makes things seem what they are not, but deceit is stored up inside him;
An enemy is known by his lips, though it is from his heart that he draws out deceit.
25 When he says fair words, have no belief in him; for in his heart are seven evils:
When he will have lowered his voice, do not believe him, for there are seven vices in his heart.
26 Though his hate is covered with deceit, his sin will be seen openly before the meeting of the people.
Whoever covers hatred with deceit, his malice shall be revealed in the assembly.
27 He who makes a hole in the earth will himself go falling into it: and on him by whom a stone is rolled the stone will come back again.
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. And whoever rolls a stone, it will roll back to him.
28 A false tongue has hate for those who have clean hearts, and a smooth mouth is a cause of falling.
A false tongue does not love truth. And a slippery mouth works ruin.
