¹² Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs
    than to confront a fool immersed in folly.^(A)

⁹ Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
    who will only despise the wisdom of your words.^(A)

⁴ Do not answer fools according to their folly,
    lest you be a fool yourself.^(A)
5 Answer fools according to their folly,
    lest they be wise in their own eyes.^(B)
6 It is like cutting off one’s foot and drinking down violence,
    to send a message by a fool.
⁷ The legs of a lame person hang limp;
    so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.^(C)
8 It is like binding a stone in a sling
    to give honor to a fool.^(D)
9 Like a thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard
    is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.^(E)
10 Like an archer who wounds everybody
    is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.^[a]
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit
    is a fool who reverts to his folly.^(F)