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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Proverbs 26: MSG
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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.
Proverbs 26
26
All about Fools
1Like snow in summertime and rain at harvest time,
so honor is not right for a fool.
2Like a fluttering sparrow,
like a darting swallow,
so a hastily spoken curse does not come to rest.
3A whip is for the horse,
a bridle is for the donkey,
and a rod is for the backs of fools.
4Do not answer a fool with his own stupidity,
or you will be like him.
5Answer a fool with his own stupidity,
or he will think he is wise.
6Whoever uses a fool to send a message
cuts off his own feet and brings violence upon himself.
7 ⌞Like⌟ a lame person’s limp legs,
so is a proverb in the mouths of fools.
8Like tying a stone to a sling,
so is giving honor to a fool.
9 ⌞Like⌟ a thorn stuck in a drunk’s hand,
so is a proverb in the mouths of fools.
10 ⌞Like⌟ many people who destroy everything,
so is one who hires fools or drifters.
11As a dog goes back to its vomit,
⌞so⌟ a fool repeats his stupidity.
12Have you met a person who thinks he is wise?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13A lazy person says,
“There’s a ferocious lion out on the road!
There’s a lion loose in the streets!”
14 ⌞As⌟ a door turns on its hinges,
so the lazy person turns on his bed.
15A lazy person puts his fork in his food.
He wears himself out as he brings it back to his mouth.
16A lazy person thinks he is wiser than seven people who give a sensible answer.
17 ⌞Like⌟ grabbing a dog by the ears,
⌞so⌟ is a bystander who gets involved in someone else’s quarrel.
18Like a madman who shoots flaming arrows, arrows, and death,
19so is the person who tricks his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
20Without wood a fire goes out,
and without gossip a quarrel dies down.
21 ⌞As⌟ charcoal fuels burning coals and wood fuels fire,
so a quarrelsome person fuels a dispute.
22The words of a gossip are swallowed greedily,
and they go down into a person’s innermost being.
23 ⌞Like⌟ a clay pot covered with cheap silver,
⌞so⌟ is smooth talk that covers up an evil heart.
24Whoever is filled with hate disguises it with his speech,
but inside he holds on to deceit.
25When he talks charmingly, do not trust him
because of the seven disgusting things in his heart.
26His hatred is deceitfully hidden,
but his wickedness will be revealed to the community.
27Whoever digs a pit will fall into it.
Whoever rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.
28A lying tongue hates its victims,
and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.