Proverbs 26:1–12

Like snow in the summer and like rain at the harvest,

so honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like the sparrow is to fluttering and like the swallow is to flying,

so an undeserved curse does not go forth.

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,

and a rod for the back of fools.

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly

lest you become like him—even you.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly,

or else he will be wise in his own eyes.

⁶Like cutting off feet or drinking violence,

so is he who sends messages in the hand of a fool.

⁷Like legs that hang limp from a lame person,

so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

⁸Like binding a stone in a sling,

so is giving honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn that goes up in the hand of a drunkard,

so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds everyone,

so is he who hires a fool or he who hires passersby.

¹¹Like a dog returning to his vomit

is a fool reverting to his folly.

¹²Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.