26:1 Like snow in summer, or rain in harvest,
honor¹ is not fitting for a fool.
26:2 Like a fluttering bird, like a flying swallow,
so a curse that is causeless² does not come to rest.³
26:3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools.⁴
26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,⁵
lest you yourself also be like him.⁶
26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly,⁷
lest he be wise in his own eyes.
26:6 Like cutting off the feet, or drinking violence,⁸
is sending⁹ a message by the hand of a fool.¹⁰
26:7 As the legs hang limp¹¹ from the lame,
so¹² is a proverb¹³ in the mouth of fools.
26:8 Like tying a stone in a sling¹⁴
is¹⁵ giving honor to fool.
26:9 As a thorn¹⁶ comes into the hand of a drunkard,
so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.¹⁷
26:10 Like an archer who wounds at random¹⁸
is the one who hires¹⁹ a fool or hires any passer-by.
26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit,²⁰
a fool repeats his folly.²¹
26:12 Do you see²² a man wise in his own eyes?²³
There is more hope for a fool²⁴ than for him.
26:13 The sluggard²⁵ says, “There is a lion in the road,
a lion in the wide plazas.”²⁶
26:14 As²⁷ the door turns on its hinges,²⁸
so a sluggard turns²⁹ upon his bed.
26:15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.³⁰
26:16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes³¹
than seven people who respond with good sense.³²
26:17 Like one who grabs a dog by the ears³³
is the person passing by who gets furious³⁴ over a quarrel not his own.
26:18 Like a madman³⁵ who shoots
firebrands and deadly arrows,³⁶
26:19 is³⁷ a person³⁸ who deceives his neighbor,
and says, “Was I not only joking?”³⁹
26:20 Where there is no wood, a fire goes out;
and where there is no gossip,⁴⁰ contention dies down.⁴¹
26:21 As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,
so is a contentious person⁴² to kindle strife.⁴³
26:22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down into the person’s innermost being.⁴⁴
26:23 Like a coating of glaze⁴⁵ over earthenware
are fervent lips with an evil heart.⁴⁶
26:24 The one who hates disguises⁴⁷ with his lips,
but he keeps⁴⁸ deceit within him.⁴⁹
26:25 When⁵⁰ he speaks graciously,⁵¹ do not believe him,⁵²
for there are seven⁵³ abominations⁵⁴ within him.
26:26 One’s⁵⁵ hatred may be concealed⁵⁶ by deceit,
his evil will be uncovered⁵⁷ in the assembly.
26:27 The one who digs a pit⁵⁸ shall fall into it;
the one who rolls a stone, it shall come back on him.
26:28 A lying tongue⁵⁹ hates those crushed by it,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.⁶⁰