26 愚人得尊榮本不合宜,
    如夏天降雪、收割時下雨。
麻雀翻飛,燕子翱翔,
    咒詛不會無端降臨。
鞭子打馬,韁繩勒驢,
    棍棒責打愚人的背。
別照愚人的愚昧回答他,
    免得你像他一樣。
要照愚人的愚昧回答他,
    免得他自以為有智慧。
靠愚人傳信,
    如同砍斷自己的腳,
    自討苦吃。
愚人口中說箴言,
    如同跛子空有腿。
把尊榮給愚人,
    就像把石子綁在甩石器上。
愚人口中說箴言,
    如同醉漢握荊棘。
10 雇用愚人或路人,
    如同弓箭手亂箭傷人。
11 愚人一再重複愚昧事,
    就像狗回頭吃所吐的。
12 自以為有智慧的人,
    還不如愚人有希望。
13 懶惰人說:「路上有獅子,
    街上有猛獅。」
14 懶惰人賴在床上滾來滾去,
    就像門在門軸上轉來轉去。
15 懶惰人手放在餐盤,
    卻懶得送食物進嘴。
16 懶惰人自以為比七個善於應對的人更有智慧。
17 插手他人的糾紛,
    猶如揪狗的耳朵。
18-19 欺騙鄰舍還說是開玩笑,
    如同瘋子亂拋火把、亂射箭。
20 沒有木柴,火自然熄滅;
    沒有閒話,爭端便平息。
21 好鬥之人煽動爭端,
    如同餘火加炭、火上加柴。
22 閒言閒語如可口的美食,
    輕易進入人的五臟六腑。
23 火熱的嘴,邪惡的心,
    猶如瓦器鍍了層銀。
24 怨恨人的用美言掩飾自己,
    心中卻藏著詭詐。
25 縱然他甜言蜜語,你也不可信他,
    因為他心中充滿各種可憎之事。
26 雖然他用詭計掩飾怨恨,
    他的邪惡必被會眾揭穿。
27 挖陷阱的,必自陷其中;
    滾石頭的,必自傷己身。
28 撒謊的舌恨它所害的人,
    諂媚的嘴帶來毀滅。

26 It shouldn’t snow in summer or rain at harvest.
Neither should a foolish person ever be honored.

Curses ·will not harm someone who is innocent [that are undeserved never stick];
they are like ·darting [flitting] birds or flying swallows.

Whips are for horses, and ·harnesses [bridles] are for donkeys,
·so paddles are good for fools [L and rods for the backs of fools].

Don’t answer fools when they speak foolishly,
or you will be just like them.

Answer fools when they speak foolishly,
or they will ·think they are really wise [L be wise in their own eyes; C a wise person must read the situation to know whether to answer or not].

Sending a message by a foolish person
is like cutting off your feet or drinking ·poison [L violence].

A ·wise saying spoken by [L proverb in the mouth of] a fool
·is as useless as [L dangles like] the legs of a crippled person.

Giving honor to a foolish person
is like ·tying a stone [L a bag of stones] in a slingshot.

A ·wise saying spoken by [L proverb in the mouth of] a fool
is like a ·thorn stuck in the hand of a drunk [L thornbush in the hand of a fool].

10 Hiring a foolish person or anyone just passing by
is like an archer shooting ·at just anything [randomly].

11 A fool who repeats his ·foolishness [foolish mistakes]
is like a dog that goes back to ·what it has thrown up [its vomit; 2 Pet. 2:22].

12 There is more hope for a foolish person
than for those who ·think they are wise [L are wise in their own eyes].

13 The lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the ·road [path]!
There’s a lion in the streets!”

14 Like a door turning back and forth on its hinges,
the lazy person turns over and over in bed.

15 Lazy people may ·put [L bury] their hands in the dish,
but they are ·too tired [or not able] to lift the food to their mouths.

16 The lazy person ·thinks he is wiser [L is wiser in his own eyes]
than seven people who give sensible answers.

17 Interfering in ·someone else’s quarrel as you pass by [or a fight not your own]
is like grabbing a dog by the ears [L as it passes by; C the idea of passing by can go with either line].

18 Like a madman shooting
    deadly, burning arrows
19 is the one who ·tricks [deceives] a neighbor
    and then says, “I was just joking.”

20 Without wood, a fire ·will go out [is extinguished],
and without gossip, ·quarreling will stop [conflict calms down].

21 Just as charcoal and wood keep a fire going,
a quarrelsome person ·keeps an argument going [kindles accusations].

22 The words of a gossip are like ·tasty bits of food [choice morsels];
·people like to gobble them up [L they go down to the inmost parts].

23 ·Kind words [L Smooth lips] from a wicked ·mind [L heart]
are like ·a shiny [silver] coating on a clay pot.

24 Those who hate you may try to ·fool [trick] you with their ·words [L lips],
    but ·in their minds [inside] they ·are planning evil [L set deception].
25 People’s ·words [L voice] may be ·kind [gracious], but don’t believe them,
    because ·their minds are full of evil thoughts [L seven abominations are in their heart; C seven is the number of completion].
26 ·Lies [Trickery; Guile] can ·hide [cover] hate,
    but the evil will be ·plain to everyone [L revealed in the assembly].

27 Whoever digs a pit for others will fall into it.
Whoever tries to roll a boulder down on others will ·be crushed by it [L have it turn back on them].

28 ·Liars [L Lying tongues] hate the people they ·hurt [crush],
and ·false praise [L a flattering tongue] can ruin others.