26Proverbs 26

Don't Be a Fool

1Expecting snow in summer and rain in the dry season makes more sense than honoring a fool.Select Proverbs 26:1

2A curse you don't deserve will take wings and fly away like a sparrow or a swallow.Select Proverbs 26:2

3Horses and donkeys must be beaten and bridled— and so must fools.Select Proverbs 26:3

4Don't make a fool of yourself by answering a fool.Select Proverbs 26:4

5But if you answer any fools, show how foolish they are, so they won't feel smart.Select Proverbs 26:5

6Sending a message by a fool is like chopping off your foot just to spite yourself.Select Proverbs 26:6

7A fool with words of wisdom is like an athlete with legs that can't move.Select Proverbs 26:7

8Are you going to honor a fool? Why not shoot a slingshot with the rock tied tight?Select Proverbs 26:8

9A thornbush waved around in the hand of a drunkard is no worse than a proverb in the mouth of a fool.Select Proverbs 26:9

10It's no smarter to shoot arrows at every passerby than it is to hire a bunch of worthless nobodies.Select Proverbs 26:10

11Dogs return to eat their vomit, just as fools repeat their foolishness.Select Proverbs 26:11

12There is more hope for a fool than for someone who says, “I'm really smart!”Select Proverbs 26:12

13Don't be lazy and keep saying, “There's a lion outside!”Select Proverbs 26:13

14A door turns on its hinges, but a lazy person just turns over in bed.Select Proverbs 26:14

15Some of us are so lazy that we won't lift a hand to feed ourselves.Select Proverbs 26:15

16A lazy person says, “I am smarter than everyone else.”Select Proverbs 26:16

17It's better to take hold of a mad dog by the ears than to take part in someone else's argument.Select Proverbs 26:17

18It's no crazier to shoot sharp and flaming arrowsSelect Proverbs 26:18

19than to cheat someone and say, “I was only fooling!”Select Proverbs 26:19

20Where there is no fuel a fire goes out; where there is no gossip arguments come to an end.Select Proverbs 26:20

21Troublemakers start trouble, just as sparks and fuel start a fire.Select Proverbs 26:21

22There is nothing so delicious as the taste of gossip! It melts in your mouth.Select Proverbs 26:22

23Hiding hateful thoughts behind smooth talk is like coating a clay pot with a cheap glaze.Select Proverbs 26:23

24The pleasant talk of an enemy hides more evil plansSelect Proverbs 26:24

25than can be counted— so don't believe a word!Select Proverbs 26:25

26Everyone will see through those evil plans.Select Proverbs 26:26

27If you dig a pit, you will fall in; if you start a stone rolling, it will roll back on you.Select Proverbs 26:27

28Watch out for anyone who tells lies and flatters— they are out to get you.Select Proverbs 26:28