Proverbs 26:12-28

English Standard Version

¹² Do you see a man who is ^(A)wise in his own eyes?
    ^(B)There is more hope for a fool than for him.
^13 (C)The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
    There is a lion in the streets!”
¹⁴ As a door turns on its hinges,
    so does a sluggard on his bed.
^15 (D)The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
    it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
¹⁶ The sluggard is ^(E)wiser in his own eyes
    ^(F)than seven men who can answer sensibly.
¹⁷ Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own
    is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
¹⁸ Like a madman who throws ^(G)firebrands, arrows, and death
¹⁹ is the man who deceives his neighbor
    and says, “I am only joking!”
²⁰ For lack of wood the fire goes out,
    and where there is no ^(H)whisperer, ^(I)quarreling ceases.
²¹ As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
    so is ^(J)a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
^22 (K)The words of ^(L)a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
    they go down into the inner parts of the body.
^23 (M)Like the ^(N)glaze^[a] covering an earthen vessel
    are fervent lips with an evil heart.
²⁴ Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips
    and harbors deceit in his heart;
^25 (O)when he speaks graciously, believe him not,
    for there are ^(P)seven abominations in his heart;
²⁶ though his hatred be covered with deception,
    his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
^27 (Q)Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
    and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.
²⁸ A lying tongue hates its victims,
    and a flattering mouth works ruin.