Proverbs 26

26Praise 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.^o

^11*A 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^p talk that hides what you are really thinking is like a fine glaze^q 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.