Home Master Index
←Prev   Proverbs 26 as rendered by/in  Next→ 


26:1  It is not right to give honour to a fool. It is as silly as snow that falls in summer, or rain that falls at the time of harvest.
26:2  If someone curses you for no reason, it will not stay with you. Their words will be like birds that never stop to rest.
26:3  There are right ways to punish a horse or a donkey. The right way to punish a fool is to beat him with a stick.
26:4  If someone asks you a silly question, do not give him a silly answer. Be careful that you do not become as silly as he is.
26:5  If someone asks you a silly question, give him a silly answer. Then he will know that he is not as wise as he thinks he is.
26:6  If you send a message with a fool, there will be trouble. It would be better to cut off your own feet!
26:7  A lame person cannot use his legs properly. A fool cannot use a proverb properly.
26:8  If you tie a stone into a sling, it will be a useless weapon. It is also useless to give honour to a fool.
26:9  A fool who speaks a proverb is like a drunk person with a thorn in his finger. He does not know what to do with it.
26:10  A soldier who shoots his arrows everywhere is useless. It is the same if you ask a stupid person to do work for you.
26:11  A sick dog goes back to eat what it could not keep in its stomach. A fool goes back and makes the same mistakes again.
26:12  Some men think that they are already wise. A fool is more likely to learn something than they are.
26:13  A lazy person does not go out of his house. He says, ‘There is a lion outside in the street!’
26:14  A lazy person turns over in his bed, like a door that continues to open and close.
26:15  A lazy person pushes his hand into his bowl of food. But then he is too tired to lift his hand up to his mouth.
26:16  A lazy person thinks that he is very wise. He thinks that he is wiser than seven people who can answer questions well.
26:17  When strangers are arguing, only a fool joins the argument. It would be better if he took hold of a wild dog's ears!
26:18  A crazy man may shoot sharp arrows to kill people.
26:19  If a person deceives his friend and then laughs about it, he is as bad as that crazy person.
26:20  Without wood, a fire stops burning. When people do not tell their friends' secrets, quarrels stop.
26:21  But when a fire has wood, it continues to burn. When people love to quarrel, there will always be arguments.
26:22  We love to hear other people's secrets. They seem like good food that we can really enjoy.
26:23  When a hypocrite says nice words, that is like a cheap pot with silver paint.
26:24  A hypocrite can say nice things to hide his thoughts, but he is still thinking about ways to hurt people.
26:25  Do not believe him when he speaks kind words. His mind is still full of evil things.
26:26  He may not seem to hate people, but he is telling lies. In a public meeting, everyone will recognize his sins.
26:27  If a man digs a deep hole as a trap, he will fall into it himself. If a man pushes a stone to fall on someone, it will fall back on him.
26:28  If you tell lies, it shows that you hate other people. If you deceive people with sweet words, you will destroy them.