26 Like snow in the summer or rain at harvest,
    so honor isn’t appropriate for a fool.
² Like a darting sparrow, like a flying swallow,
    so an undeserved curse never arrives.
³ A whip for a horse, a bridle for a donkey,
    and a rod for the back of fools.
⁴ Don’t answer fools according to their folly,
    or you will become like them yourself.
⁵ Answer fools according to their folly,
    or they will deem themselves wise.
⁶ Sending messages with a fool
    is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking down violence.
⁷ As legs dangle from a disabled person,
    so does a proverb in the mouth of fools.
⁸ Like tying a stone in a sling,
    so is giving respect to a fool.
⁹ Like a thorny bush in the hand of a drunk,
    so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
¹⁰ Like an archer who wounds someone randomly,
    so is one who hires a fool or a passerby.
¹¹ Like a dog that returns to its vomit,
    so a fool repeats foolish mistakes.
¹² Do you see people who consider themselves wise?
    There is more hope for a fool than for them.
¹³ A lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the path!
    A lion in the plazas!”
¹⁴ As a door turns on its hinge,
    so do lazy people in their beds.
¹⁵ Lazy people bury their hand into the bowl,
    too tired to return it to their mouth.
¹⁶ Lazy people think they are wiser
    than seven people who answer sensibly.

¹⁷     Like yanking the ears of a dog,
    so is one who passes by and gets involved in another person’s fight.
¹⁸ Like a crazy person shooting deadly flaming arrows
¹⁹     are those who deceive their neighbor and say, “Hey, I was only joking!”
²⁰ Without wood a fire goes out;
    without gossips, conflict calms down.
²¹ Like adding charcoal to embers or wood to fire,
    quarrelsome people kindle strife.
²² The words of gossips are like choice snacks;
    they go down to the inmost parts.
²³ Smooth^[a] lips and an evil heart
    are like silver coating on clay.
²⁴ Hateful people mislead with their lips,
    keeping their deception within.
²⁵ Though they speak graciously, don’t believe them,
    for seven horrible things are in their heart.
²⁶ They may cover their hatred with trickery,
    but their evil will be revealed in public.
²⁷ Those who dig a pit will fall in it;
    those who roll a stone will have it turn back on them.
²⁸ A lying tongue hates those it crushes;
    a flattering mouth causes destruction.

27 Don’t brag about tomorrow,
    for you don’t know what a day will bring.
² Let another person praise you, and not your own mouth;
    a stranger, and not your own lips.
³ A stone is heavy and sand weighs much,
    but the nuisance of fools is heavier than both.
⁴ Wrath is cruel and anger is a flood,
    but who can withstand jealousy?
⁵ A public correction is better than hidden love.
⁶ Trustworthy are the bruises of a friend;
    excessive are the kisses of an enemy.
⁷ Someone who is full refuses honey,
    but anything bitter tastes sweet to a hungry person.
⁸ Like a bird wandering from its nest,
    so is one who wanders from home.
⁹ Oil and incense make the heart glad,
    and the sweetness of friends comes from their advice.^[b]
10 Don’t desert your friend or a friend of your family;
    don’t go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes.
    Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
¹¹ Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
    so I can answer those who insult me.
¹² Prudent people see evil and hide;
    the simpleminded go right to it and get punished.
¹³ Take the garment of the person who secures a loan for a stranger;
    take his pledge for a foreigner.
¹⁴ Greeting a neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning
    will be viewed as a curse.
¹⁵ The constant dripping on a rainy day
    and a contentious woman are alike;
¹⁶         anyone who can control her
        can control the wind
        or pick up oil in his hand.
¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens a friend.
¹⁸ Those who tend a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and those who look after their master will be honored.
¹⁹ As water reflects the face,
    so the heart reflects one person to another.
²⁰ The grave^[c] and the underworld^[d] are never satisfied;
    and people’s eyes are never satisfied.
²¹ A crucible is for silver and a furnace for gold;
    so are people in the presence of someone who praises them.
²² Even if you grind fools in a mortar,
    even grinding them along with the grain,
    their folly won’t be driven from them.
²³ Know your flock well;
    pay attention to your herds,
²⁴         for no treasure lasts forever,
        nor a crown generation after generation.
²⁵ When the grass goes away, new growth appears,
    and the plants of the hills are gathered,
²⁶         then the lambs will provide your clothes,
        and the goats will be the price of your fields.
²⁷ There will be enough goat’s milk for your food,
    for the food of your house,
    and to nourish your young women.