Proverbs 26
26
1As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, So honour [is] not comely for a fool.
2As a bird by wandering, as a swallow by flying, So reviling without cause doth not come.
3A whip is for a horse, a bridle for an ass, And a rod for the back of fools.
4Answer not a fool according to his folly, Lest thou be like to him — even thou.
5Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6He is cutting off feet, he is drinking injury, Who is sending things by the hand of a fool.
7Weak have been the two legs of the lame, And a parable in the mouth of fools.
8As one who is binding a stone in a sling, So [is] he who is giving honour to a fool.
9A thorn hath gone up into the hand of a drunkard, And a parable in the mouth of fools.
10Great [is] the Former of all, And He is rewarding a fool, And is rewarding transgressors.
11As a dog hath returned to its vomit, A fool is repeating his folly.
12Thou hast seen a man wise in his own eyes, More hope of a fool than of him!
13The slothful hath said, ‘A lion [is] in the way, A lion [is] in the broad places.’
14The door turneth round on its hinge, And the slothful on his bed.
15The slothful hath hid his hand in a dish, He is weary of bringing it back to his mouth.
16Wiser [is] the slothful in his own eyes, Than seven [men] returning a reason.
17Laying hold on the ears of a dog, [Is] a passer-by making himself wrath for strife not his own.
18As [one] pretending to be feeble, Who is casting sparks, arrows, and death,
19So hath a man deceived his neighbour, And hath said, ‘Am not I playing?’
20Without wood is fire going out, And without a tale-bearer, contention ceaseth,
21Coal to burning coals, and wood to fire, And a man of contentions to kindle strife.
22The words of a tale-bearer [are] as self-inflicted wounds, And they have gone down [to] the inner parts of the heart.
23Silver of dross spread over potsherd, [Are] burning lips and an evil heart.
24By his lips doth a hater dissemble, And in his heart he placeth deceit,
25When his voice is gracious trust not in him, For seven abominations [are] in his heart.
26Hatred is covered by deceit, Revealed is its wickedness in an assembly.
27Whoso is digging a pit falleth into it, And the roller of a stone, to him it turneth.
28A lying tongue hateth its bruised ones, And a flattering mouth worketh an overthrow!
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Proverbs 26: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Proverbs 26
26
Fools Recycle Silliness
1We no more give honors to fools
than pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest.
2You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse
as from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow.
3A whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the sailboat—
and a stick for the back of fools!
4Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool;
you’ll only look foolish yourself.
5Answer a fool in simple terms
so he doesn’t get a swelled head.
6You’re only asking for trouble
when you send a message by a fool.
7A proverb quoted by fools
is limp as a wet noodle.
8Putting a fool in a place of honor
is like setting a mud brick on a marble column.
9To ask a moron to quote a proverb
is like putting a scalpel in the hands of a drunk.
10Hire a fool or a drunk
and you shoot yourself in the foot.
11As a dog eats its own vomit,
so fools recycle silliness.
12See that man who thinks he’s so smart?
You can expect far more from a fool than from him.
13Loafers say, “It’s dangerous out there!
Tigers are prowling the streets!”
and then pull the covers back over their heads.
14Just as a door turns on its hinges,
so a lazybones turns back over in bed.
15A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie,
but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth.
Like Glaze on Cracked Pottery
16Dreamers fantasize their self-importance;
they think they are smarter
than a whole college faculty.
17You grab a mad dog by the ears
when you butt into a quarrel that’s none of your business.
18-19People who shrug off deliberate deceptions,
saying, “I didn’t mean it, I was only joking,”
Are worse than careless campers
who walk away from smoldering campfires.
20When you run out of wood, the fire goes out;
when the gossip ends, the quarrel dies down.
21A quarrelsome person in a dispute
is like kerosene thrown on a fire.
22Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;
do you want junk like that in your belly?
23Smooth talk from an evil heart
is like glaze on cracked pottery.
24-26Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend,
all the while plotting against you.
When he speaks warmly to you, don’t believe him for a minute;
he’s just waiting for the chance to rip you off.
No matter how shrewdly he conceals his malice,
eventually his evil will be exposed in public.
27Malice backfires;
spite boomerangs.
28Liars hate their victims;
flatterers sabotage trust.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.