26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
26:2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.
26:3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.
26:4 Do not answer fools according to their folly, lest you be a fool yourself.
26:5 Answer fools according to their folly, lest they be wise in their own eyes.
26:6 It is like cutting off one’s foot and drinking down violence, to send a message by a fool.
26:7 The legs of a lame person hang limp; so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
26:8 It is like binding a stone in a sling to give honor to a fool.
26:9 Like a thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
26:10 Like an archer who wounds everybody is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
26:11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who reverts to his folly.
26:12 Do you see people wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for fools than for them.
26:13 The lazy person says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”
26:14 As a door turns on its hinges, so does a lazy person in bed.
26:15 The lazy person buries a hand in the dish and is too tired to bring it back to the mouth.
26:16 The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem than seven who can answer discreetly.
26:17 Like someone who takes a passing dog by the ears is one who meddles in the quarrel of another.
26:18 Like a maniac who shoots deadly firebrands and arrows,
26:19 so is one who deceives a neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”
26:20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
26:21 As charcoal is to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
26:22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.
26:23 Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are smooth lips with an evil heart.
26:24 An enemy dissembles in speaking while harboring deceit within;
26:25 when an enemy speaks graciously, do not believe it, for there are seven abominations concealed within;
26:26 though hatred is covered with guile, the enemy’s wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
26:27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.
26:28 A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
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