Proverbs 26
1 Just [like] [SIM] [it is not appropriate for] snow [to fall] in summer time, or rain [to fall] at harvest time, it is not appropriate to praise/honor foolish people.
Honoring someone stupid is as inappropriate as snow in the summer or rain during harvest.
2 Like [SIM] birds that fly by [and do not alight/land on anything], if someone curses you, it cannot hurt you if you (do not deserve them/have not done to him what is wrong).
A curse that isn't deserved won't land on the person, like a fluttering sparrow or a flitting swallow.
3 It is necessary to whip a horse and to put a bridle on a donkey [to force them to go where we want them to go], and similarly [SIM] [it is often necessary to strike] foolish people with a stick [to cause them to do what is right].
Horses need a whip, donkeys need a bridle, and stupid people need a rod on their backs!
4 If a foolish person asks a foolish question, [do not answer him], because [if you answer his question], you are just as foolish as he is.
Don't answer stupid people following their stupidity, or you'll become as bad as them.
5 If you give a foolish answer to someone who asks a foolish question, he will realize that he is (not very wise/foolish).
Answer stupid people following their stupidity, otherwise they'll think they're wise.
6 Anyone who asks a foolish person to take a message to someone [is himself doing something as foolish as] cutting off his own feet or drinking poison.
Trusting someone stupid to deliver a message is like cutting of your feet or drinking poison.
7 A lame man cannot use his legs, and similarly [SIM] [it is useless for] a foolish person to speak [MTY] (proverbs/wise sayings).
A proverb spoken by someone stupid is as useless as a lame person's legs.
8 Tying a stone in a sling [so that it cannot be thrown at a target] is [as foolish as] [SIM] honoring a foolish person.
Honoring someone stupid is as pointless as tying a stone into a sling.
9 If a drunk person waves some thorns/brambles with his hand, [he is not able to accomplish anything useful by doing that] (OR, [he does not feel it when a thorn sticks in his hand]); similarly, if foolish people speak [MTY] proverbs, [they do not help anyone who hears them].
A proverb spoken by someone stupid is as ridiculous as a thorn bush waved around by a drunk.
10 A man who shoots arrows [to try] to wound everybody who is near [is foolish]; similarly, anyone who hires a foolish person [who passes by is very foolish].
Anyone who hires someone stupid or just a passer-by is like an archer wounding people by shooting arrows at random.
11 A foolish person will foolishly do something stupid a second time; it is [like] [SIM] a dog returning to [eat] what it has vomited.
Stupid people repeat their stupidity like a dog returning to its vomit.
12 [God] can help/bless foolish people more easily than he can help/bless people who are not wise [RHQ], but think that they are wise.
Have you seen a man who is wise in his own eyes? There's more hope for stupid people than for him!
13 Lazy people [just stay inside their houses and do nothing]; [they keep] saying “[I think] there is a lion in the street!”
Lazy people are the ones who say, “There's a lion on the road—a lion running around the streets!”
14 A door [continually] swings back and forth on its hinges [and does not go anywhere]; similarly [SIM], lazy people [just continually turn over] in their beds [and never do anything].
A lazy person turns in bed like a door turns on its hinge.
15 Some people are extremely lazy; they put their hand in a dish [to get some food] but do not [even] lift the food up to their mouths.
Lazy people put their hands in a dish, but are too tired to lift the food to their mouths.
16 Lazy people think that they are wiser than seven/several people who can answer [others’ questions] with good sense.
In their own eyes lazy people are wiser than many sensible advisors.
17 Anyone who (meddles/involves himself) in a quarrel that does not concern him is [as foolish as] [SIM] someone who tries to grab a passing dog by its ears.
Interfering in someone else's quarrel is like grabbing a stray dog by the ears.
18 Crazy people who shoot burning arrows to kill people
You're like a crazy person firing off blazing arrows and killing people
19 are as foolish as those who deceive someone else and [then] say, “I was only joking.”
if you lie to your friend and then say, “I was only joking!”
20 If there is no [more] firewood [to put on the fire], the fire will go out; similarly [SIM], if there are no people who (gossip/tell people things that are not true), quarreling will end.
Without wood, the fire goes out; and without gossips, arguments stop.
21 [Putting] charcoal on burning coals or [putting] wood on a fire [causes the fire to keep burning]; similarly, people who like to quarrel cause people to keep arguing.
An argumentative person fires up quarrels like putting charcoal on hot embers or wood on a fire.
22 People [enjoy listening to what gossips say about others just like] [SIM] they enjoy tasty food; they [enjoy listening to what gossips tell them like] they enjoy swallowing tasty food.
Listening to gossip is like gulping down bites of your favorite food—they go deep down inside you.
23 People who say nice things when they are thinking about doing evil things are like a nice glaze/covering on a [cheap] clay pot.
Smooth talking with evil intent is like a shiny lead glaze on an earthenware pot.
24 Those who hate someone and are saying [MTY] something very different from what they are thinking are hypocrites; they are only planning [to harm that person].
People say nice things to you even though they hate you; deep down they're just lying to you.
25 When they say nice things, do not believe them, because in their inner beings are many things that [Yahweh] hates.
When people talk nicely to you, don't believe them—their minds are full of hate for you.
26 They try to deceive people to cause them to think that they do not hate [that person], but in a public meeting, the people will find out the evil things [that they have done].
Even though their hatred may be hidden by cunning tricks, their evil will be revealed to everyone.
27 Those who dig a deep pit [for other people to fall into] will fall into it themselves; rocks will roll down on those who start to cause rocks to roll down [to crush someone].
Those who dig pits to trap others will fall in themselves, and those who start boulders rolling will be crushed themselves.
28 Those [MTY] who tell lies to others [really] hate them, and those who deceive [others] ruin them.
If you tell lies, you show you hate your victims; if you flatter people, you cause disaster.
