Proverbs 26

Chapters 25 through 29 of Proverbs are grouped under the heading "proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out" (Proverbs 25:1). Chapter 26 belongs to this collection and, following Proverbs 25, continues with short sayings that compare human character to images drawn from nature and everyday life.

Outline

• Verses 1–12: The fool. Honor given to a fool is as unfitting as snow in summer or rain at harvest. The passage addresses how to answer a fool and the dangers of sending a fool on an errand or hiring him. It closes by noting that a man wise in his own conceit has less hope than a fool.
• Verses 13–16: The sluggard. The sluggard makes the excuse that there is a lion in the way, turns on his bed like a door on its hinges, and puts his hand into the dish yet finds it wearisome to bring it back to his mouth.
• Verses 17–22: Strife and gossip. These verses warn against meddling in a quarrel that is not one's own and against deceiving a neighbor and then claiming it was only in jest. They observe that where there is no talebearer (one who spreads what others say), strife ceases.
• Verses 23–28: Deceptive speech and a wicked heart. A person whose lips appear gentle but whose heart is wicked is compared to an earthen vessel overlaid with silver. Hidden wickedness will be exposed before the congregation, and the one who digs a pit will fall into it himself.

Key Verses

• Proverbs 26:4–5: "Answer not a fool according to his folly … Answer a fool according to his folly." Placing opposing counsels side by side, this passage is a well-known illustration of wisdom that discerns according to circumstances.
• Proverbs 26:11: "As a dog returneth to his vomit." This saying is quoted in 2 Peter 2:20–22.
• Proverbs 26:27: "Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein." This verse distills the principle that evil comes back upon the one who does it.

People and Places

No named people or places appear in this chapter. Its central figures are character types such as the fool, the sluggard, the talebearer, and the deceiver.

Points for Reflection

Verses 4 and 5 offer seemingly contradictory counsel, and interpreters have long debated them. They are commonly read as presenting two complementary aspects: do not argue with a fool on his own level, yet do not leave him to imagine that he is in the right. In keeping with the character of wisdom literature, the sayings in this chapter are read as observations about the general tendencies of life rather than as promises that things will always turn out a certain way. In the New Testament, verse 11 is used to describe apostate false teachers.