Pro Proverbs, chapter Proverbs of Solomon, chapter 26
Similitudes and Instructions
Like snow in summer and rain at harvest,
honor does not befit a fool.
Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow,
an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools!Psa 32:9
Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you yourself will be like him.Mat 21:27
Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he become wise in his own eyes.
Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violence
is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.
Like lame legs hanging limp
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
Like binding a stone into a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.
Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
Like an archer who wounds at random
is he who hires a fool or passerby.
As a dog returns to its vomit,26:11 Cited in 2 Peter 2:22
so a fool repeats his folly.2Pe 2:22
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.Isa 5:21; Rom 12:16
The slacker says, “A lion is in the road!
A fierce lion roams the public square!”Pro 22:13
As a door turns on its hinges,
so the slacker turns on his bed.
The slacker buries his hand in the dish;
it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.Pro 19:24
The slacker is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who answer discreetly.Luk 19:21
Like one who grabs a dog by the ears
is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
Like a madman shooting firebrands
and deadly arrows,
so is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I was only joking!”
Without wood, a fire goes out;
without gossip, a conflict ceases.
Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels
that go down into the inmost being.Psa 55:21
Like glaze covering an earthen vessel
are burning26:23 Hebrew; LXX smooth lips and a wicked heart.
A hateful man disguises himself with his speech,
but he lays up deceit in his heart.Act 16:17
When he speaks graciously, do not believe him,
for seven abominations fill his heart.1Sa 26:25
Though his hatred is concealed by deception,
his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
He who digs a pit will fall into it,
and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.Psa 7:15; Ecc 10:8
A lying tongue hates those it crushes,
and a flattering mouth causes ruin.