Proverbs 26:1
Expanded Bible
26 It shouldn’t snow in summer or rain at harvest.
Neither should a foolish person ever be honored.
Proverbs 26:3-12
Expanded Bible
3 Whips are for horses, and ·harnesses [bridles] are for donkeys,
·so paddles are good for fools [L and rods for the backs of fools].
4 Don’t answer fools when they speak foolishly,
or you will be just like them.
5 Answer fools when they speak foolishly,
or they will ·think they are really wise [L be wise in their own eyes; C a wise person must read the situation to know whether to answer or not].
6 Sending a message by a foolish person
is like cutting off your feet or drinking ·poison [L violence].
7 A ·wise saying spoken by [L proverb in the mouth of] a fool
·is as useless as [L dangles like] the legs of a crippled person.
8 Giving honor to a foolish person
is like ·tying a stone [L a bag of stones] in a slingshot.
9 A ·wise saying spoken by [L proverb in the mouth of] a fool
is like a ·thorn stuck in the hand of a drunk [L thornbush in the hand of a fool].
10 Hiring a foolish person or anyone just passing by
is like an archer shooting ·at just anything [randomly].
11 A fool who repeats his ·foolishness [foolish mistakes]
is like a dog that goes back to ·what it has thrown up [its vomit; 2 Pet. 2:22].
12 There is more hope for a foolish person
than for those who ·think they are wise [L are wise in their own eyes].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
