Proverbs 26

26It shouldn’t snow in summer or rain at harvest.

Neither should a foolish person ever be honored.

²Curses will not harm someone who is innocent;

they are like sparrows or swallows that fly around and never land.

³Whips are for horses, and harnesses are for donkeys,

so paddles are good for fools.

⁴Don’t answer fools when they speak foolishly,

or you will be just like them.

⁵Answer fools when they speak foolishly,

or they will think they are really wise.

⁶Sending a message by a foolish person

is like cutting off your feet or drinking poison.

⁷A wise saying spoken by a fool

is as useless as the legs of a crippled person.

⁸Giving honor to a foolish person

is like tying a stone in a slingshot.

⁹A wise saying spoken by a fool

is like a thorn stuck in the hand of a drunk.

¹⁰Hiring a foolish person or anyone just passing by

is like an archer shooting at just anything.

¹¹A fool who repeats his foolishness

is like a dog that goes back to what it has thrown up.

¹²There is more hope for a foolish person

than for those who think they are wise.

¹³The lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the road!

There’s a lion in the streets!”

¹⁴Like a door turning back and forth on its hinges,

the lazy person turns over and over in bed.

¹⁵Lazy people may put their hands in the dish,

but they are too tired to lift the food to their mouths.

¹⁶The lazy person thinks he is wiser

than seven people who give sensible answers.

¹⁷Interfering in someone else’s quarrel as you pass by

is like grabbing a dog by the ears.

¹⁸Like a madman shooting

deadly, burning arrows

¹⁹is the one who tricks a neighbor

and then says, “I was just joking.”

²⁰Without wood, a fire will go out,

and without gossip, quarreling will stop.

²¹Just as charcoal and wood keep a fire going,

a quarrelsome person keeps an argument going.

²²The words of a gossip are like tasty bits of food;

people like to gobble them up.

²³Kind words from a wicked mind

are like a shiny coating on a clay pot.

²⁴Those who hate you may try to fool you with their words,

but in their minds they are planning evil.

²⁵People’s words may be kind, but don’t believe them,

because their minds are full of evil thoughts.

²⁶Lies can hide hate,

but the evil will be plain to everyone.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit for others will fall into it.

Whoever tries to roll a boulder down on others will be crushed by it.

²⁸Liars hate the people they hurt,

and false praise can ruin others.