Aa
1Like snow in summer and rain at harvest,26:1 1Sm 12:17
honor is inappropriate for a fool.26:1 Pr 17:7; 19:10

2Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow,26:2 Pr 27:8
an undeserved curse goes nowhere.26:2 Nm 23:8; Dt 23:5; 2Sm 16:12

3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,26:3 Ps 32:9
and a rod for the backs of fools.26:3 Pr 10:13; 19:29
4Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness26:4 Pr 23:9; 29:9; Mt 7:6; Lk 23:9
or you’ll be like him yourself.
5Answer a fool according to his foolishness26:5 Mt 16:1–4; 21:24–27
or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.26:5 Pr 26:12; 28:11; Rm 12:16
6The one who sends a message by a fool’s hand26:6 Pr 10:26; 25:13
cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.26:6 Pr 13:2
7A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like lame legs that hang limp.
8Giving honor to a fool
is like binding a stone in a sling.
9A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a stick with thorns,
brandished by26:9 Lit thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard.
10The one who hires a fool or who hires those passing by
is like an archer who wounds everyone indiscriminately.
11As a dog returns to its vomit,
so also a fool repeats his foolishness.26:11 2Pt 2:22
12Do you see a person who is wise in his own eyes?26:12 Pr 3:7; 26:5; Rm 12:16
There is more hope for a fool than for him.26:12 Pr 29:20

13The slacker says, “There’s a lion in the road —
a lion in the public square!” 26:13 Pr 22:13
14A door turns on its hinges,
and a slacker, on his bed.26:14 Pr 6:9–10; 19:15
15The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he is too weary to bring it to his mouth!26:15 Pr 12:27; 19:24
16In his own eyes, a slacker is wiser26:16 Pr 26:5,12; 28:11
than seven who can answer sensibly.

17A person who is passing by and meddles in a quarrel that’s not his
is like one who grabs a dog by the ears.
18Like a madman who throws flaming darts and deadly arrows,26:18 Is 50:11
19so is the person who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I was only joking!”

20Without wood, fire goes out;
without a gossip, conflict dies down.26:20 Pr 16:28; 22:10
21As charcoal for embers and wood for fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.26:21 Pr 15:18
22A gossip’s words are like choice food
that goes down to one’s innermost being.26:22 Lit to the chambers of the belly26:22 Pr 18:8

23Smooth26:23 LXX; MT reads Burning lips with an evil heart
are like glaze on an earthen vessel.26:23 Mt 23:27; Lk 11:39
24A hateful person disguises himself with his speech
and harbors deceit within.
25When he speaks graciously, don’t believe him,
for there are seven detestable things in his heart.26:25 Ps 28:3
26Though his hatred is concealed by deception,
his evil will be revealed in the assembly.
27The one who digs a pit will fall into it,
and whoever rolls a stone —
it will come back on him.26:27 Est 7:10; Jb 4:8; Pr 28:10; Dn 6:24; Mt 26:52
28A lying tongue hates those it crushes,
and a flattering mouth causes ruin.