Proverbs 26
26
Wise Sayings About Fools
1Just as snow should not fall in summer, nor rain at harvest time, so people should not honor a fool.
2Don’t worry when someone curses you for no reason. Nothing bad will happen. Such words are like birds that fly past and never stop.
3You have to whip a horse, you have to put a bridle on a mule, and you have to beat a fool.
4-5There is no good way to answer fools when they say something stupid. If you answer them, then you, too, will look like a fool. If you don’t answer them, they will think they are smart.
6Never let a fool carry your message. If you do, it will be like cutting off your own feet. You are only asking for trouble.
7A fool trying to say something wise is like a crippled person trying to walk.
8Showing honor to a fool is as bad as tying a rock in a sling.
9A fool trying to say something wise is like a drunk trying to pick a thorn out of his hand.
10Hiring a fool or a stranger who is just passing by is dangerous—you don’t know who might get hurt.
11Like a dog that returns to its vomit, a fool does the same foolish things again and again.
12People who think they are wise when they are not are worse than fools.
13A person who is lazy and wants to stay home says, “What if there is a lion out there? Really, there might be a lion in the street!”
14Like a door on its hinges, a lazy man turns back and forth on his bed.
15Lazy people are too lazy to lift the food from their plate to their mouth.
16Lazy people think they are seven times smarter than the people who really have good sense.
17To step between two people arguing is as foolish as going out into the street and grabbing a stray dog by the ears.
18-19Anyone who would trick someone and then say, “I was only joking” is like a fool who shoots flaming arrows into the air and accidentally kills someone.
20Without wood, a fire goes out. Without gossip, arguments stop.
21Charcoal keeps the coals glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive.
22People love to hear gossip. It is like tasty food on its way to the stomach.
23Good words that hide an evil heart are like silver paint over a cheap, clay pot. 24Evil people say things to make themselves look good, but they keep their evil plans a secret. 25What they say sounds good, but don’t trust them. They are full of evil ideas. 26They hide their evil plans with nice words, but in the end, everyone will see the evil they do.
27Whoever digs a pit can fall into it. Whoever rolls a large stone can be crushed by it.
28Liars hate the people they hurt, and false praise can hurt people.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Proverbs 26
26
1As snow in summer #1 Sam. 12:17and rain in harvest,
So honor is not fitting for a fool.
2Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow,
So #Num. 23:8; Deut. 23:5; 2 Sam. 16:12a curse without cause shall not alight.
3#Ps. 32:9; Prov. 19:29A whip for the horse,
A bridle for the donkey,
And a rod for the fool’s back.
4Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest you also be like him.
5#Matt. 16:1–4; Rom. 12:16Answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6He who sends a message by the hand of a fool
Cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
7Like the legs of the lame that hang limp
Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8Like one who binds a stone in a sling
Is he who gives honor to a fool.
9Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard
Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10The great God who formed everything
Gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages.
11#2 Pet. 2:22As a dog returns to his own vomit,
#Ex. 8:15So a fool repeats his folly.
12#Prov. 29:20; Luke 18:11, 12; (Rev. 3:17)Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road!
A fierce lion is in the streets!”
14As a door turns on its hinges,
So does the lazy man on his bed.
15The #Prov. 19:24lazy man buries his hand in the bowl;
It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.
16The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes
Than seven men who can answer sensibly.
17He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own
Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.
18Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,
19Is the man who deceives his neighbor,
And says, #Eph. 5:4“I was only joking!”
20Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;
And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.
21#Prov. 15:18As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,
So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
22The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
And they go down into the inmost body.
23Fervent lips with a wicked heart
Are like earthenware covered with silver dross.
24He who hates, disguises it with his lips,
And lays up deceit within himself;
25#Ps. 28:3; Prov. 26:23; Jer. 9:8When he speaks kindly, do not believe him,
For there are seven abominations in his heart;
26Though his hatred is covered by deceit,
His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.
27#Esth. 7:10; Ps. 7:15; Prov. 28:10; Eccl. 10:8Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
And he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.
28A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it,
And a flattering mouth works #Prov. 29:5ruin.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.