26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor 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 honor to a fool.
26:9 Like a thornbush 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 neighbor 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. / *Hebrew; Septuagint smooth
26:24 Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor 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.