Proverbs 26 — NETB

26Verse 1Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
so honor is not fitting for a fool.
^{Verse 2}Like a fluttering bird or like a flying swallow,
so a curse without cause does not come to rest.
^{Verse 3}A whip for the horse and a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools!
^{Verse 4}Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
lest you yourself also be like him.
^{Verse 5}Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own estimation.
^{Verse 6}Like cutting off the feet or drinking violence,
so is sending a message by the hand of a fool.
^{Verse 7}Like legs that hang limp from the lame,
so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
^{Verse 8}Like tying a stone in a sling,
so is giving honor to a fool.
^{Verse 9}Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard,
so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
^{Verse 10}Like an archer who wounds at random,
so is the one who hires a fool or hires any passer-by.
^{Verse 11}Like a dog that returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly.
^{Verse 12}Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
^{Verse 13}The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
A lion in the streets!”
^{Verse 14}Like a door that turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.
^{Verse 15}The sluggard plunges his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
^{Verse 16}The sluggard is wiser in his own estimation
than seven people who respond with good sense.
^{Verse 17}Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears,
so is the person passing by who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own.
^{Verse 18}Like a madman who shoots
firebrands and deadly arrows,
^{Verse 19}so is a person who deceives his neighbor,
and says, “Was I not only joking?”
^{Verse 20}Where there is no wood, a fire goes out,
and where there is no gossip, contention ceases.
^{Verse 21}Like charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,
so is a contentious person to kindle strife.
^{Verse 22}The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels;
they go down into a person’s innermost being.
^{Verse 23}Like a coating of glaze over earthenware
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
^{Verse 24}The one who hates others disguises it with his lips,
but he stores up deceit within him.
^{Verse 25}When he speaks graciously, do not believe him,
for there are seven abominations within him.
^{Verse 26}Though his hatred may be concealed by deceit,
his evil will be uncovered in the assembly.
^{Verse 27}The one who digs a pit will fall into it;
the one who rolls a stone – it will come back on him.
^{Verse 28}A lying tongue hates those crushed by it,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.