Proverbs 26

1Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest,
So glory is not fitting for a fool.
2Like a sparrow in its ▼

▼Lit wandering

flitting, like a swallow in flying,
So a curse without cause does not come to pass.
3A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
And a rod for the back of fools.
4Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest you yourself also be like him.
5Answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6He cuts off his own feet and drinks violence
Who sends words by the hand of a fool.
7 Like the legs which hang limp on the lame,
So is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8Like ▼

▼Lit the binding of

one who binds a stone in a sling,
So is he who gives glory to a fool.
9 Like a thorn which goes up into the hand of a drunkard,
So is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 ▼

▼ Or A master workman produces all things, But he who hires a fool is like one who hires those who pass by

Like an archer who wounds everyone,
So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by.
11Like a dog that returns to its vomit
Is a fool who repeats ▼

▼Lit with his

his folly.
12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13The sluggard says, “There is a fierce lion in the road!
A lion is ▼

▼Lit within

among the streets!”
14 As the door turns on its hinges,
So does the sluggard on his bed.
15The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
He is too weary to return it to his mouth.
16The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
Than seven men who can respond with a discreet answer.
17 Like one who seizes a dog by the ears
Is he who passes by and becomes passionate about strife not belonging to him.
18Like a madman who shoots
Firebrands, arrows, and death,
19So is the man who deceives his neighbor,
And says, “Am I not joking?”
20With no wood the fire goes out,
And where there is no whisperer, strife quiets down.
21 Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
22The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the stomach.
23 Like an earthen vessel overlaid with silver dross
Are fiery lips and an evil heart.
24He who hates disguises it with his lips,
But he sets up deceit within himself.
25When he makes his voice gracious, do not believe him,
For there are seven abominations in his heart.
26 Though his hatred covers itself with guile,
His evil will be revealed in the assembly.
27He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And he who rolls a stone, it will turn back on him.
28A lying tongue hates ▼

▼Lit its crushed ones

those it crushes,
And a flattering mouth works ruin.