Proverbs 26:1-21 ▼

1 Like snow in summertime and rain at harvest time, so honor is not right for a fool.

2 Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so a hastily spoken curse does not come to rest.

3 A whip is for the horse, a bridle is for the donkey, and a rod is for the backs of fools.

4 Do not answer a fool with his own stupidity, or you will be like him.

5 Answer a fool with his own stupidity, or he will think he is wise.

6 Whoever uses a fool to send a message cuts off his own feet and brings violence upon himself.

7 [Like] a lame person's limp legs, so is a proverb in the mouths of fools.

8 Like tying a stone to a sling, so is giving honor to a fool.

9 [Like] a thorn stuck in a drunk's hand, so is a proverb in the mouths of fools.

10 [Like] many people who destroy everything, so is one who hires fools or drifters.

11 As a dog goes back to its vomit, [so] a fool repeats his stupidity.

12 Have you met a person who thinks he is wise? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

13 A lazy person says, |There's a ferocious lion out on the road! There's a lion loose in the streets!|

14 [As] a door turns on its hinges, so the lazy person turns on his bed.

15 A lazy person puts his fork in his food. He wears himself out as he brings it back to his mouth.

16 A lazy person thinks he is wiser than seven people who give a sensible answer.

17 [Like] grabbing a dog by the ears, [so] is a bystander who gets involved in someone else's quarrel.

18 Like a madman who shoots flaming arrows, arrows, and death,

19 so is the person who tricks his neighbor and says, |I was only joking!|

20 Without wood a fire goes out, and without gossip a quarrel dies down.

21 [As] charcoal fuels burning coals and wood fuels fire, so a quarrelsome person fuels a dispute.