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12 Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man,
    rather than a fool in his folly.

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12 It is safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
    than to confront a fool caught in foolishness.

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Don’t speak in the ears of a fool,
    for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

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Don’t waste your breath on fools,
    for they will despise the wisest advice.

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Don’t answer a fool according to his folly,
    lest you also be like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
    lest he be wise in his own eyes.
One who sends a message by the hand of a fool
    is cutting off feet and drinking violence.
Like the legs of the lame that hang loose,
    so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
As one who binds a stone in a sling,
    so is he who gives honor to a fool.
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.

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Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools,
    or you will become as foolish as they are.

Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools,
    or they will become wise in their own estimation.

Trusting a fool to convey a message
    is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison!

A proverb in the mouth of a fool
    is as useless as a paralyzed leg.

Honoring a fool
    is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.

A proverb in the mouth of a fool
    is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.

10 An employer who hires a fool or a bystander
    is like an archer who shoots at random.

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

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22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,
    yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.

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22 You cannot separate fools from their foolishness,
    even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.

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If a wise man goes to court with a foolish man,
    the fool rages or scoffs, and there is no peace.

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If a wise person takes a fool to court,
    there will be ranting and ridicule but no satisfaction.

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