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26:1  Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honour is not fitting for a fool.
26:2  Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
26:3  A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
26:4  Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.
26:5  Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.
26:6  Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.
26:7  Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
26:8  Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honour to a fool.
26:9  Like a thorn-bush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
26:10  Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.
26:11  As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.
26:12  Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.
26:13  A sluggard says, ‘There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!’
26:14  As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.
26:15  A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
26:16  A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly.
26:17  Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.
26:18  Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death
26:19  is one who deceives their neighbour and says, ‘I was only joking!’
26:20  Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.
26:21  As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
26:22  The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
26:23  Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart.
26:24  Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbour deceit.
26:25  Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts.
26:26  Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
26:27  Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.
26:28  A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.