²⁶ Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
    so are the lazy to their employers.^(A)

⁶ It is like cutting off one’s foot and drinking down violence,
    to send a message by a fool.

²⁰ Like vinegar on a wound^[a]
    is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood,
    sorrow gnaws at the human heart.^[b]

¹³ Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
    are faithful messengers to those who send them;
    they refresh the spirit of their masters.^(A)

⁵ who say, “Keep to yourself;
    do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
    a fire that burns all day long.^(A)