Proverbs Chapter 26

¹ Like snow in summer and rain at harvest,

honor is out of place on a fool.

                  ²Like a flitting sparrow, like a fluttering swallow,

            an undeserved curse doesn’t land on its intended victim.

³ A whip is for a horse,

a bridle is for a donkey,

                  a rod is for the back of a fool.

                  ⁴Don’t answer fools’ arguments;

            you’ll dignify them with a response.

⁵ Answer fools’ arguments;

otherwise, they’ll think they’ve won.

                  ⁶Trusting a fool to deliver a message

            is like cutting off your feet or drinking poison.         

Prov 26:1-6

⁷ A proverb in the mouth of a fool

is like legs hanging from the lame.

                  ⁸Honoring a fool

            is as dangerous as putting a stone in a sling.

⁹ A proverb in the mouth of a fool

is like a thorn in the hand of a drunk.

                  ¹⁰Whoever hires a fool or passerby

            is like an archer that shoots at random.

¹¹ A fool that repeats his folly

is like a dog that returns to its vomit.

                  ¹²There’s more hope for fools

            than for people that think they’re smart.                   

Prov 26:7-12

¹³ Lazy people claim there’s a lion in the road!

There’s surely a lion in the public square!

                  ¹⁴Like a door swinging on its hinges,

            lazy people turn on their beds.

¹⁵ Lazy people stick their fingers in the plate

but they don’t even bring the food to their mouth.

                  ¹⁶Lazy people think they’re smarter

            than seven wise advisors.

¹⁷ A passerby that meddles in other people’s conflict

is like someone taking a dog by the ears.                              

Prov 26:13-17

^18-19 Someone that lies

            and says, “Just kidding,”

      is as dangerous as a maniac

             that’s shooting flaming arrows.

²⁰ For lack of wood a fire goes out;

where there’s no gossip, quarreling dies down.

                  ²¹Contentious people spark conflict

            like charcoal on hot embers or wood on fire.

²² Rumors are like delicious morsels;

they work their way down deep inside you!

                  ²³Warm lips and a base heart

            are like silver glaze on a clay pot.                             

Prov 26:18-23

²⁴ People disguise disdain with words

            while storing up deceit in their heart;

         ²⁵don’t trust them when they pretend to be kind to you,

            because they have seven evils in their minds;

         ²⁶though they coat their disdain with lies,

            it’ll eventually come out for all to see.

²⁷ You dig a pit for others, only to fall in it yourself;

you roll a boulder uphill only to have it roll back and crush you.

                  ²⁸A lying tongue despises its victims;

            a flattering mouth brings ruin.                                   

Prov 26:24-28