Proverbs 25:15-26:24

New International Version

¹⁵Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,^(A)
and a gentle tongue can break a bone.^(B)

¹⁶If you find honey, eat just enough—
too much of it, and you will vomit.^(C)
¹⁷Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—
too much of you, and they will hate you.

¹⁸Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow
    is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.^(D)
¹⁹Like a broken tooth or a lame foot
    is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.
²⁰Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,
    or like vinegar poured on a wound,
    is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
²²In doing this, you will heap burning coals^(E) on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.^(F)

²³Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain
is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look.

²⁴Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.^(G)

²⁵Like cold water to a weary soul
is good news from a distant land.^(H)
²⁶Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
are the righteous who give way to the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat too much honey,^(I)
nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.^(J)

²⁸Like a city whose walls are broken through
is a person who lacks self-control.

26 Like snow in summer or rain^(K) in harvest,
    honor is not fitting for a fool.^(L)
²Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
    an undeserved curse does not come to rest.^(M)
³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,^(N)
    and a rod for the backs of fools!^(O)
⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
    or you yourself will be just like him.^(P)
⁵Answer a fool according to his folly,
    or he will be wise in his own eyes.^(Q)
⁶Sending a message by the hands of a fool^(R)
    is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.
⁷Like the useless legs of one who is lame
    is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.^(S)
⁸Like tying a stone in a sling
    is the giving of honor to a fool.^(T)
⁹Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand
    is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.^(U)
¹⁰Like an archer who wounds at random
    is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.
¹¹As a dog returns to its vomit,^(V)
    so fools repeat their folly.^(W)
¹²Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?^(X)
    There is more hope for a fool than for them.^(Y)

¹³A sluggard says,^(Z) “There’s a lion in the road,
    a fierce lion roaming the streets!”^(AA)
¹⁴As a door turns on its hinges,
    so a sluggard turns on his bed.^(AB)
¹⁵A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
    he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.^(AC)
¹⁶A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
    than seven people who answer discreetly.

¹⁷Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears
is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.

¹⁸Like a maniac shooting
flaming arrows of death
¹⁹is one who deceives their neighbor
and says, “I was only joking!”

²⁰Without wood a fire goes out;
    without a gossip a quarrel dies down.^(AD)
²¹As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
    so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.^(AE)
²²The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
    they go down to the inmost parts.^(AF)

²³Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware
are fervent^[a] lips with an evil heart.
²⁴Enemies disguise themselves with their lips,^(AG)
but in their hearts they harbor deceit.^(AH)