³ A man may ruin his chances by his own foolishness and then blame it on the Lord!

³ It is an honor for a man to stay out of a fight. Only fools insist on quarreling.

²⁰ The wise man saves for the future,^[a] but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.

¹⁵ A youngster’s heart is filled with rebellion, but punishment will drive it out of him.

26 Honor doesn’t go with fools any more than snow with summertime or rain with harvesttime!

² An undeserved curse has no effect. Its intended victim will be no more harmed by it than by a sparrow or swallow flitting through the sky.

³ Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle, and a rebel with a rod to his back!

^4-5 When arguing with a rebel, don’t use foolish arguments as he does, or you will become as foolish as he is! Prick his conceit with silly replies!^[a]

⁶ To trust a rebel to convey a message is as foolish as cutting off your feet and drinking poison!

⁷ In the mouth of a fool a proverb becomes as useless as a paralyzed leg.

⁸ Honoring a rebel will backfire like a stone tied to a slingshot!

⁹ A rebel will misapply an illustration so that its point will no more be felt than a thorn in the hand of a drunkard.

¹⁰ The master may get better work from an untrained apprentice than from a skilled rebel!

¹¹ As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

¹² There is one thing worse than a fool, and that is a man who is conceited.

²⁶ A man is a fool to trust himself! But those who use God’s wisdom are safe.

¹¹ A rebel shouts in anger; a wise man holds his temper in and cools it.

³² If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil, don’t brag about it—cover your mouth with your hand in shame.