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.
Mishlei (Pro) 26
26
1Like snow in summer or rain at harvest-time,
so honor for a fool is out of place.
2Like a fluttering sparrow or a flying swallow,
an undeserved curse will come home to roost.
3A whip for a horse, a bridle for a donkey,
and a rod for the back of fools.
4Don’t answer a fool in terms of his folly,
or you will be descending to his level;
5but answer a fool as his folly deserves,
so that he won’t think he is wise.
6Telling a message to a fool and sending him out
is like cutting off one’s feet and drinking violence.
7The legs of the disabled hang limp and useless;
likewise a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
8Like one who ties his stone to the sling
is he who gives honor to a fool.
9Like a thorn branch in the hand of a drunk
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
10A master can make anything,
but hiring a fool is like hiring some passer-by.
11Just as a dog returns to his vomit,
a fool repeats his folly.
12Do you see someone who thinks himself wise?
There is more hope for a fool than for him!
13The lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the streets!
A lion is roaming loose out there!”
14The door turns on its hinges,
and the lazy man on his bed.
15The lazy person buries his hand in the dish
but is too tired to return it to his mouth.
16A lazy man is wiser in his own view
than seven who can answer with sense.
17Like someone who grabs a dog by the ears
is a passer-by who mixes in a fight not his own.
18Like a madman shooting deadly arrows and firebrands
19is one who deceives another, then says, “It was just a joke.”
20If there’s no wood, the fire goes out;
if nobody gossips, contention stops.
21As coals are to embers and wood to fire
is a quarrelsome person to kindling strife.
22A slanderer’s words are tasty morsels;
they slide right down into the belly.
23Like silver slag overlaid on a clay pot
are lips that burn [with friendship] over a hating heart.
24He who hates may hide it with his speech;
but inside, he harbors deceit.
25He may speak pleasantly, but don’t trust him;
for seven abominations are in his heart.
26His hatred may be concealed by deceit,
but his wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.
27Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.
28A lying tongue hates its victims,
and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
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