NETtext - Proverbs - 26

26:1  Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

26:2  Like a fluttering bird or like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause does not come to rest.

26:3  A whip for the horse and a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!

26:4  Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you yourself also be like him.

26:5  Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own estimation.

26:6  Like cutting off the feet or drinking violence, so is sending a message by the hand of a fool.

26:7  Like legs that hang limp from the lame, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

26:8  Like tying a stone in a sling, so is giving honor to a fool.

26:9  Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

26:10  Like an archer who wounds at random, so is the one who hires a fool or hires any passer-by.

26:11  Like a dog that 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 lion in the streets!"

26:14  Like a door that turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.

26:15  The sluggard plunges 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 estimation than seven people who respond with good sense.

26:17  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.

26:18  Like a madman who shoots firebrands and deadly arrows,

26:19  so is a person who deceives his neighbor, and says, "Was I not only joking?"

26:20  Where there is no wood, a fire goes out, and where there is no gossip, contention ceases.

26:21  Like charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious person to kindle strife.

26:22  The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels; they go down into a person's innermost being.

26:23  Like a coating of glaze over earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart.

26:24  The one who hates others disguises it with his lips, but he stores up deceit within him.

26:25  When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations within him.

26:26  Though his hatred may be concealed by deceit, his evil will be uncovered in the assembly.

26:27  The one who digs a pit will fall into it; the one who rolls a stone - it will come back on him.

26:28  A lying tongue hates those crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin.