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.
Currently Selected:
Proverbs 26: GNBDC
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
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
1It isn’t proper to honor a foolish person.
That’s like having snow in summer or rain at harvest time.
2A curse given for no reason is like a wandering bird or a flying sparrow.
It doesn’t go anywhere.
3A whip is for a horse, and a harness is for a donkey.
And a beating is for the backs of foolish people.
4Don’t answer a foolish person in keeping with their foolish acts.
If you do, you yourself will be just like them.
5Answer a foolish person in keeping with their foolish acts.
If you do not, they will be wise in their own eyes.
6Sending a message in the hand of a foolish person
is like cutting off your feet or drinking poison.
7A proverb in the mouth of a foolish person
is like disabled legs that are useless.
8Giving honor to a foolish person
is like tying a stone in a slingshot.
9A proverb in the mouth of a foolish person
is like a thorn in the hand of someone who is drunk.
10Anyone who hires a foolish person or someone who is passing by
is like a person who shoots arrows at just anybody.
11Foolish people who do the same foolish things again
are like a dog that returns to where it has thrown up.
12Do you see a person who is wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for a foolish person than for them.
13A person who doesn’t want to work says, “There’s a lion in the road!
There’s an angry lion wandering in the streets!”
14A person who doesn’t want to work turns over in bed
just like a door that swings back and forth.
15A person who doesn’t want to work leaves his hand in his plate.
He acts as if he is too tired to bring his hand back up to his mouth.
16A person who doesn’t want to work is wiser in his own eyes
than seven people who give careful answers.
17Don’t be quick to get mixed up in someone else’s fight.
That’s like grabbing a stray dog by its ears.
18Suppose a crazy person shoots
flaming arrows that can kill.
19Someone who lies to their neighbor
and says, “I was only joking!” is just like that crazy person.
20If you don’t have wood, your fire goes out.
If you don’t talk about others, arguing dies down.
21Coal glows, and wood burns.
And a person who argues stirs up conflict.
22The words of anyone who talks about others are like tasty bites of food.
They go deep down inside you.
23Warm words that come from an evil heart
are like a shiny coating on a clay pot.
24Enemies use their words as a mask.
They hide their evil plans in their hearts.
25Even though what they say can be charming, don’t believe them.
That’s because seven things God hates fill that person’s heart.
26Their hatred can be hidden by lies.
But their evil plans will be shown to everyone.
27Whoever digs a pit will fall into it.
If someone rolls a big stone, it will roll back on them.
28A tongue that tells lies hates the people it hurts.
And words that seem to praise you destroy you.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.