Proverbs 26:18-23

English Standard Version

¹⁸ Like a madman who throws ^(A)firebrands, arrows, and death
¹⁹ is the man who deceives his neighbor
    and says, “I am only joking!”
²⁰ For lack of wood the fire goes out,
    and where there is no ^(B)whisperer, ^(C)quarreling ceases.
²¹ As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
    so is ^(D)a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
^22 (E)The words of ^(F)a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
    they go down into the inner parts of the body.
^23 (G)Like the ^(H)glaze^[a] covering an earthen vessel
    are fervent lips with an evil heart.