Proverbs 26
26
1Praise for a fool is out of place, like snow in summer or rain at harvest time.
2Curses cannot hurt you unless you deserve them. They are like birds that fly by and never settle.
3You have to whip a horse, you have to bridle a donkey, and you have to beat a fool.
4If you answer a silly question, you are just as silly as the person who asked it.
5Give a silly answer to a silly question, and the one who asked it will realize that he's not as clever as he thinks.
6If you let a fool deliver a message, you might as well cut off your own feet; you are asking for trouble.
7A fool can use a proverb about as well as crippled people can use their legs.
8Praising someone who is stupid makes as much sense as tying a stone in a sling.
9A fool quoting a wise saying reminds you of a drunk trying to pick a thorn out of his hand.
10An employer who hires any fool that comes along is only hurting everybody concerned.#26.10 Verse 10 in Hebrew is unclear.
11A fool doing some stupid thing a second time is like a dog going back to its vomit.
12The most stupid fool is better off than someone who thinks he is wise when he is not.
13Why don't lazy people ever get out of the house? What are they afraid of? Lions?
14Lazy people turn over in bed. They get no farther than a door swinging on its hinges.
15Some people are too lazy to put food in their own mouths.
16A lazy person will think he is more intelligent than seven people who can give good reasons for their opinions.
17Getting involved in an argument that is none of your business is like going down the street and grabbing a dog by the ears.
18-19Someone who misleads someone else and then claims that he was only joking is like a mad person playing with a deadly weapon.
20Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, quarrelling stops.
21Charcoal keeps the embers glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive.
22Gossip is so tasty! How we love to swallow it!
23Insincere#26.23 One ancient translation Insincere; Hebrew Burning. talk that hides what you are really thinking is like a fine glaze#26.23 Probable text fine glaze; Hebrew unrefined silver. on a cheap clay pot.
24A hypocrite hides hatred behind flattering words. 25They may sound fine, but don't believe him, because his heart is filled to the brim with hate. 26He may disguise his hatred, but everyone will see the evil things he does.
27People who set traps for others get caught themselves. People who start landslides get crushed.
28You have to hate someone to want to hurt him with lies. Insincere talk brings nothing but ruin.
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Proverbs 26: GNBUK
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Proverbs 26
26
Don't Be a Fool
1Expecting snow in summer
and rain in the dry season
makes more sense
than honoring a fool.
2A curse you don't deserve
will take wings and fly away
like a sparrow or a swallow.
3Horses and donkeys
must be beaten and bridled—
and so must fools.
4Don't make a fool of yourself
by answering a fool.
5But if you answer any fools,
show how foolish they are,
so they won't feel smart.
6Sending a message by a fool
is like chopping off your foot
just to spite yourself.
7A fool with words of wisdom
is like an athlete
with legs that can't move.#26.7 with … move: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8Are you going to honor a fool?
Why not shoot a slingshot
with the rock tied tight?
9A thornbush waved around
in the hand of a drunkard
is no worse than a proverb
in the mouth of a fool.
10It's no smarter to shoot arrows
at every passerby
than it is to hire a bunch
of worthless nobodies.#26.10 nobodies: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
11 #
2 P 2.22. Dogs return to eat their vomit,
just as fools repeat
their foolishness.
12There is more hope for a fool
than for someone who says,
“I'm really smart!”
13Don't be lazy and keep saying,
“There's a lion outside!”
14A door turns on its hinges,
but a lazy person
just turns over in bed.
15Some of us are so lazy
that we won't lift a hand
to feed ourselves.
16A lazy person says,
“I am smarter
than everyone else.”
17It's better to take hold
of a mad dog by the ears
than to take part
in someone else's argument.
18It's no crazier to shoot
sharp and flaming arrows
19than to cheat someone and say,
“I was only fooling!”
20Where there is no fuel
a fire goes out;
where there is no gossip
arguments come to an end.
21Troublemakers start trouble,
just as sparks and fuel
start a fire.
22There is nothing so delicious
as the taste of gossip!
It melts in your mouth.
23Hiding hateful thoughts
behind smooth#26.23 smooth: One ancient translation; Hebrew “hateful.” talk
is like coating a clay pot
with a cheap glaze.
24The pleasant talk
of an enemy
hides more evil plans
25than can be counted—
so don't believe a word!
26Everyone will see through
those evil plans.
27 #
Si 27.25-27. If you dig a pit,
you will fall in;
if you start a stone rolling,
it will roll back on you.
28Watch out for anyone
who tells lies and flatters—
they are out to get you.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.