26:1 Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest,
So honor is not fitting for a fool.
26:2 Like a sparrow in its ①flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
So a curse without cause does not come to rest.
▷ ①Lit wandering
26:3 A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
And a rod for the back of fools.
26:4 Do not answer a fool ①according to his foolishness,
Or you will also be like him.
▷ ①I.e., taking his question or argument seriously
26:5 Answer a fool as his foolishness deserves,
So that he will not be wise in his own eyes.
26:6 One who sends a message by the hand of a fool
Chops off his own feet and drinks violence.
26:7 Like ①useless legs to one who cannot walk,
So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.
▷ ①Lit legs that dangle from one paralyzed
26:8 Like ①one who binds a stone in a sling,
So is one who gives honor to a fool.
▷ ①Lit the binding of
26:9 Like a thorn that ①sticks in the hand of a heavy drinker,
So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.
▷ ①Lit goes up
26:10 ①Like an archer who wounds everyone,
So is one who hires a fool or hires those who pass by.
▷ ①Or A master workman produces all things, But one who hires a fool is like one who hires those who pass by
26:11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit,
So is a fool who repeats ①his foolishness.
▷ ①Lit with his
26:12 Do you see a person wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
26:13 ①A lazy one says, “There is a lion on the road!
A lion is ②in the public square!”
▷ ①Lit an idle, and so throughout the ch ②Lit within
26:14 As the door turns on its hinges,
So does a lazy one on his bed.
26:15 A lazy one buries his hand in the dish;
He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.
26:16 A lazy one is wiser in his own eyes
Than seven people who can ①give a discreet answer.
▷ ①Lit return discreetly
26:17 Like one who takes a dog by the ears,
So is one who passes by and ①meddles with strife not belonging to him.
▷ ①Lit infuriates himself
26:18 Like a maniac who shoots
Flaming arrows, arrows, and death,
26:19 So is a person who deceives his neighbor,
And says, “Was I not joking?”
26:20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,
And where there is no gossiper, quarreling quiets down.
26:21 Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
So is a contentious person to kindle strife.
26:22 The words of a gossiper are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the ①innermost parts of the body.
▷ ①Lit chambers of the belly
26:23 Like an earthenware vessel overlaid with silver ①impurities
Are burning lips and a wicked heart.
▷ ①Lit dross
26:24 One who hates disguises it with his lips,
But he harbors deceit in his ①heart.
▷ ①Lit inward part
26:25 When ①he speaks graciously, do not believe him,
Because there are seven abominations in his heart.
▷ ①Lit his voice is gracious
26:26 Though his hatred covers itself with deception,
His wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.
26:27 One who digs a pit will fall into it,
And one who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.
26:28 A lying tongue hates ①those it crushes,
And a flattering mouth works ruin.
▷ ①Lit its crushed ones