26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honour is not fitting for a fool.
26:2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
26:3 A whip for the horse, a halter for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.
26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.
26:6 Like cutting off one’s feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.
26:7 Like a lame man’s legs that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
26:8 Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honour to a fool.
26:9 Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
26:10 Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or any passer-by.
26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
26:13 The sluggard says, There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!
26:14 As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.
26:15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
26:16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.
26:17 Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
26:18 Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows
26:19 is a man who deceives his neighbour and says, I was only joking!
26:20 Without wood a fire goes out without gossip a quarrel dies down.
26:21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
26:22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels they go down to a man’s inmost parts.
26:23 Like a coating of glaze [With a different word division of the Hebrew Masoretic Text of silver dross] over earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart.
26:24 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbours deceit.
26:25 Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.
26:26 His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
26:27 If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
26:28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.