Proverbs 26
1 Honoring someone stupid is as inappropriate as snow in the summer or rain during harvest.
In the manner of snow in the summer, and rain at the harvest, so also is glory unfit for the foolish.
2 A curse that isn't deserved won't land on the person, like a fluttering sparrow or a flitting swallow.
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 Horses need a whip, donkeys need a bridle, and stupid people need a rod on their backs!
A whip is for a horse, and a muzzle is for donkey, and a rod is for the back of the imprudent.
4 Don't answer stupid people following their stupidity, or you'll become as bad as them.
Do not respond to the foolish according to his folly, lest you become like him.
5 Answer stupid people following their stupidity, otherwise they'll think they're wise.
Respond to the foolish according to his folly, lest he imagine himself to be wise.
6 Trusting someone stupid to deliver a message is like cutting of your feet or drinking poison.
Whoever sends words by a foolish messenger has lame feet and drinks iniquity.
7 A proverb spoken by someone stupid is as useless as a lame person's legs.
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 Honoring someone stupid is as pointless as tying a stone into a sling.
Just like one who casts a stone into the pile of Mercury, so also is he who gives honor to the foolish.
9 A proverb spoken by someone stupid is as ridiculous as a thorn bush waved around by a drunk.
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 Anyone who hires someone stupid or just a passer-by is like an archer wounding people by shooting arrows at random.
Judgment determines cases. And whoever imposes silence on the foolish mitigates anger.
11 Stupid people repeat their stupidity like a dog returning to its vomit.
Like a dog that returns to his vomit, so also is the imprudent who repeats his foolishness.
12 Have you seen a man who is wise in his own eyes? There's more hope for stupid people 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 Lazy people are the ones who say, “There's a lion on the road—a lion running around the streets!”
The lazy one says, “There is a lion along the way, and a lioness in the roads.”
14 A lazy person turns in bed like a door turns on its hinge.
Just as a door turns upon its hinges, so also does the lazy one turn upon his bed.
15 Lazy people put their hands in a dish, but are too tired to lift the food to their mouths.
The lazy one conceals his hand under his arms, and it is a labor for him to move it to his mouth.
16 In their own eyes lazy people are wiser than many sensible advisors.
The lazy one seems wiser to himself than seven men speaking judgments.
17 Interfering in someone else's quarrel is like grabbing a stray dog by the ears.
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 You're like a crazy person firing off blazing arrows and killing people
Just as he is guilty who let loose the arrows and the lances unto death,
19 if you lie to your friend and then say, “I was only joking!”
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 without gossips, arguments stop.
When the wood fails, the fire will be extinguished. And when the gossiper is taken away, conflicts will be quelled.
21 An argumentative person fires up quarrels like putting charcoal on hot embers or wood on a fire.
Just as charcoals are to burning coals, and wood is to fire, so also is an angry man who stirs up quarrels.
22 Listening to gossip is like gulping down bites of your favorite food—they go deep down inside you.
The words of a whisperer seem simple, but they penetrate to the innermost parts of the self.
23 Smooth talking with evil intent is like a shiny lead glaze on an earthenware pot.
In the same manner as an earthen vessel, if it were adorned with impure silver, conceited lips are allied with a wicked heart.
24 People say nice things to you even though they hate you; deep down they're just lying to you.
An enemy is known by his lips, though it is from his heart that he draws out deceit.
25 When people talk nicely to you, don't believe them—their minds are full of hate for you.
When he will have lowered his voice, do not believe him, for there are seven vices in his heart.
26 Even though their hatred may be hidden by cunning tricks, their evil will be revealed to everyone.
Whoever covers hatred with deceit, his malice shall be revealed in the assembly.
27 Those who dig pits to trap others will fall in themselves, and those who start boulders rolling will be crushed themselves.
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. And whoever rolls a stone, it will roll back to him.
28 If you tell lies, you show you hate your victims; if you flatter people, you cause disaster.
A false tongue does not love truth. And a slippery mouth works ruin.
