Pro 26 | EE | STEP | It is not right to say good words about a fool. It is like snow in summer. It is like rain at the time of harvest.

Proverbs 26

1 It is not right to say good words about a fool. It is like snow in summer. It is like rain at the time of harvest.

2 Sometimes people may say bad words about you. They may hope that bad things will happen to you. But if you have not done anything wrong, those words will have no power over you. They are like birds that never stop flying.

3 You have to hit a fool like you have to hit a horse or a donkey.

4 You are silly if you answer a silly question. You are as silly as the person who asked the question.

5 If someone asks a silly question, give him a silly answer. So he will know that he is not so wise. He is not as wise as he thinks.

6 If you let a fool deliver a message there will be trouble. It will be as bad as to cut off your own feet.

7 A fool cannot use a proverb. It is like the legs of a man who cannot walk.

8 To speak well about a fool is as silly as to fight with a sword that you have broken.

9 When a fool speaks a proverb, he is like a drunk. He is like a man who has drunk too much alcohol. He cannot even pick a sharp hard point of wood from his hand.

10 A soldier who fights everyone is no help to his master. The man who gives work to a fool is like that soldier. Someone who gives work to a stranger is as silly.

11 A sick dog cannot keep in its stomach what it has eaten. But then the dog eats it again. That is like a fool who makes the same mistakes again.

12 Some men think that they are wise. But really, they are not. Silly fools are better than those men.

13 A lazy man does not go out of the house. He says that there is a lion in the street.

14 A lazy person turns over in bed. A door opens and closes. And he is like that door.

15 A lazy man puts his hand into his food. But then he is too tired to put the food into his own mouth.

16 A wise man can give a good answer to any question. But a lazy person thinks that he is wiser than 7 wise men.

17 Only a fool speaks in a quarrel among strangers. He is like someone who holds on to the ears of a dog.

18 ^{▼▼This verse is empty because in this translation its contents have been moved to form part of verse Pro 26:19.} ^{▼▼In this translation, this verse contains text which in some other translations appears in verses Pro 26:18-Pro 26:19.}19 A man may tell lies and then laugh about it. Do not listen to him. He is like a man who shoots everywhere with arrows. He is like a man who throws burning sticks about.

20 Without wood, a fire goes out. When nobody argues about other people, quarrels stop.

21 With wood, a fire continues to burn. In the same way, a man who causes trouble causes a quarrel to continue.

22 To say bad things about other people is like when you eat nice food.

23 Nice words from a bad man are like a cheap pot that shines.

24 A man who hates somebody can speak good words. But he is speaking lies. And nobody knows what he is really thinking.

25 The words of a bad man may seem good. But do not believe him, because there are 7 sins in his mind.

26 He may hide his sin. But everyone will see the bad things that he does.

27 If a man digs a very deep hole, he will fall into it. If a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.

28 If you tell lies about someone, you hate them. Bad words destroy the man who listens to them.