Proverbs 26 - Amplified Bible(AMP)

Similitudes, Instructions

1Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest,

So honor is not fitting for a fool.

2Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying,

So the curse without cause does not come and alight.

3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,

And a rod for the backs of fools.

4Do not answer a fool according to his folly,

Otherwise you, even you, will be like him.

5Answer a fool according to his folly,

Otherwise he will be wise in his own eyes.

6He who sends a message by the hand of a fool

Cuts off his own feet (sabotages himself) and drinks the violence.

7Like the legs which are useless to the lame,

So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

8Like one who binds a stone in a sling,

So is he who gives honor to a fool.

9Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunken man,

So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

10Like a archer who wounds everyone,

So is he who hires a fool or those who pass by.

11Like a dog that returns to his vomit

Is a fool who repeats his foolishness.

12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes and full of self-conceit?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

13The lazy person says, “There is a lion in the road!

A lion is in the open square!”

14As the door turns on its hinges,

So does the lazy person on his bed.

15The lazy person buries his hand in the dish;

It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

16The lazy person is wiser in his own eyes

Than seven men who can give a discreet answer.

17Like one who grabs a dog by the ears

Is he who, passing by, stops to meddle with a dispute that is none of his business.

18Like a madman who throws

Firebrands, arrows, and death,

19So is the man who deceives his neighbor (acquaintance, friend)

And then says, “Was I not joking?”

20For lack of wood the fire goes out,

And where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.

21Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,

So is a contentious man to kindle strife.

22The words of a whisperer (gossip) are like dainty morsels;

They go down into the innermost chambers of the body.

23Like a clay vessel covered with the silver dross

Are burning lips and a wicked heart.

24He who hates, disguises it with his lips,

But he stores up deceit in his heart.

25When he speaks graciously and kindly, do not trust him,

For seven abominations are in his heart.

26 Though his hatred covers itself with guile and deceit,

His malevolence will be revealed openly before the assembly.

27Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,

And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

28A lying tongue hates those it wounds and crushes,

And a flattering mouth works ruin.