26 Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest,
    so honor is not fitting for a fool.
² Like a fluttering sparrow,
    like a darting swallow,
    so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.
³ A whip is for the horse,
    a bridle for the donkey,
    and a rod for the back of fools!
⁴ Don’t answer a fool according to his folly,
    lest you also be like him.
⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly,
    lest he be wise in his own eyes.
⁶ One who sends a message by the hand of a fool
    is cutting off feet and drinking violence.
⁷ Like the legs of the lame that hang loose,
    so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
⁸ As one who binds a stone in a sling,
    so is he who gives honor to a fool.
⁹ Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard,
    so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
¹⁰ As an archer who wounds all,
    so is he who hires a fool
    or he who hires those who pass by.
¹¹ As a dog that returns to his vomit,
    so is a fool who repeats his folly.
¹² Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
    There is more hope for a fool than for him.
¹³ The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
    A fierce lion roams the streets!”
¹⁴ As the door turns on its hinges,
    so does the sluggard on his bed.
¹⁵ The sluggard buries his hand in the dish.
    He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
¹⁶ The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
    than seven men who answer with discretion.
¹⁷ Like one who grabs a dog’s ears
    is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.
¹⁸ Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,
¹⁹     is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?”
²⁰ For lack of wood a fire goes out.
    Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
²¹ As coals are to hot embers,
    and wood to fire,
    so is a contentious man to kindling strife.
²² The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels,
    they go down into the innermost parts.
²³ Like silver dross on an earthen vessel
    are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.
²⁴ A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,
    but he harbors evil in his heart.
²⁵ When his speech is charming, don’t believe him,
    for there are seven abominations in his heart.
²⁶ His malice may be concealed by deception,
    but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
²⁷ Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it.
    Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.
²⁸ A lying tongue hates those it hurts;
    and a flattering mouth works ruin.