Proverbs 26:1–12

It isn’t proper to honor a foolish person.

That’s like having snow in summer or rain at harvest time.

²A curse given for no reason is like a wandering bird or a flying sparrow.

It doesn’t go anywhere.

³A whip is for a horse. A harness is for a donkey.

And a beating is for the backs of foolish people.

⁴Don’t answer a foolish person in keeping with his foolish acts.

If you do, you will be like him yourself.

⁵Answer a foolish person in keeping with his foolish acts.

If you do, he won’t be wise in his own eyes.

⁶Sending a message in the hand of a foolish person

is like cutting off your feet or drinking something harmful.

⁷A proverb in the mouth of a foolish person

is like disabled legs that are useless.

⁸Giving honor to a foolish person

is like tying a stone in a slingshot.

⁹A proverb in the mouth of a foolish person

is like a thorn in the hand of someone who is drunk.

¹⁰Anyone who hires a foolish person or someone who is passing by

is like a person who shoots arrows at just anybody.

¹¹A foolish person who does the same foolish things again

is like a dog that returns to where it has thrown up.

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

There is more hope for a foolish person than for him.