Proverbs 26 · Clearspring

Similitudes and Instructions

¹Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor does not befit a fool.+ ²Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.+ ³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!+ ⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.+ ⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.+ ⁶Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.+ ⁷Like lame legs hanging limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.+ ⁸Like binding a stone into a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.+ ⁹Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.+ ¹⁰Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or passerby.+ ¹¹As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.+ ¹²Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.+ ¹³The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”+ ¹⁴As a door turns on its hinges, so the slacker turns on his bed.+ ¹⁵The slacker buries his hand in the dish; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.+ ¹⁶The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.+ ¹⁷Like one who grabs a dog by the ears is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own.+ ¹⁸Like a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows,+ ¹⁹so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”+ ²⁰Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.+ ²¹Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.+ ²²The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.+ ²³Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.+ ²⁴A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.+ ²⁵When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.+ ²⁶Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.+ ²⁷He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.+ ²⁸A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.+

Similitudes and Instructions

Study Proverbs 26