Proverbs 26:1-16

New King James Version

² Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow,
So ^(B)a curse without cause shall not alight.

^3 (C)A whip for the horse,
A bridle for the donkey,
And a rod for the fool’s back.
⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest you also be like him.
^5 (D)Answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
⁶ He who sends a message by the hand of a fool
Cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
⁷ Like the legs of the lame that hang limp
Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
⁸ Like one who binds a stone in a sling
Is he who gives honor to a fool.
⁹ Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard
Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
^10 [a]The great God who formed everything
Gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages.
^11 (E)As a dog returns to his own vomit,
^(F)So a fool repeats his folly.
^12 (G)Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³ The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road!
A fierce lion is in the ^[b]streets!”
¹⁴ As a door turns on its hinges,
So does the lazy man on his bed.
¹⁵ The ^(H)lazy man buries his hand in the ^[c]bowl;
It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.
¹⁶ The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes
Than seven men who can answer sensibly.