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
1 LIKE SNOW in summer and like rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a [self-confident] fool. [Isa. 32:6.]
2 Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying, so the causeless curse does not alight. [Num. 23:8.]
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a [straight, slender] rod for the backs of [self-confident] fools.
4 Answer not a [self-confident] fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.
5 Answer a [self-confident] fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes and conceit. [Matt. 16:1-4; 21:24-27.]
6 He who sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off the feet [of satisfactory delivery] and drinks the damage. [Prov. 13:17.]
7 Like the legs of a lame man which hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of a fool.
8 Like he who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a [self-confident] fool.
9 Like a thorn that goes [without being felt] into the hand of a drunken man, so is a proverb in the mouth of a [self-confident] fool.
10 [But] like an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or chance passers-by.
11 As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes and conceit? There is more hope for a [self-confident] fool than for him. [Prov. 29:20; Luke 18:11; Rom. 12:16; Rev. 3:17.]
13 The sluggard says, There is a lion in the way! A lion is in the streets! [Prov. 22:13.]
14 As the door turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man [move not from his place] upon his bed.
15 The slothful and self-indulgent buries his hand in his bosom; it distresses and wearies him to bring it again to his mouth. [Prov. 19:24.]
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes and conceit than seven men who can render a reason and answer discreetly.
17 He who, passing by, stops to meddle with strife that is none of his business is like one who takes a dog by the ears.
18 Like a madman who casts firebrands, arrows, and death,
19 So is the man who deceives his neighbor and then says, Was I not joking? [Eph. 5:4.]
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention ceases.
21 As coals are to hot embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man to inflame strife. [Prov. 15:18; 29:22.]
22 The words of a whisperer or slanderer are like dainty morsels or words of sport [to some, but to others are like deadly wounds]; and they go down into the innermost parts of the body [or of the victim's nature].
23 Burning lips [uttering insincere words of love] and a wicked heart are like an earthen vessel covered with the scum thrown off from molten silver [making it appear to be solid silver].
24 He who hates pretends with his lips, but stores up deceit within himself.
25 When he speaks kindly, do not trust him, for seven abominations are in his heart.
26 Though his hatred covers itself with guile, his wickedness shall be shown openly before the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit [for another man's feet] shall fall into it himself, and he who rolls a stone [up a height to do mischief], it will return upon him. [Ps. 7:15, 16; 9:15; 10:2; 57:6; Prov. 28:10; Eccl. 10:8.]
28 A lying tongue hates those it wounds and crushes, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation