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 26:1
New American Standard Bible
Similitudes and Instructions
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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].
Proverbs 26:3-12
New American Standard Bible
3 A (A)whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
And a (B)rod for the back of fools.
4 (C)Do not answer a fool [a]according to his foolishness,
Or you will also be like him.
5 (D)Answer a fool as his foolishness deserves,
So that he will not be (E)wise in his own eyes.
6 One who sends a message by the hand of a fool
Chops off his own feet and drinks violence.
7 Like [b]useless legs to one who cannot walk,
So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.
8 Like [c]one who binds a stone in a sling,
So is one who gives honor to a fool.
9 Like a thorn that [d]sticks in the hand of a heavy drinker,
So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.
10 [e]Like an archer who wounds everyone,
So is one who hires a fool or hires those who pass by.
11 Like (F)a dog that returns to its vomit,
So is a fool who (G)repeats [f]his foolishness.
12 Do you see a person (H)wise in his own eyes?
(I)There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 26:4 I.e., taking his question or argument seriously
- Proverbs 26:7 Lit legs that dangle from one paralyzed
- Proverbs 26:8 Lit the binding of
- Proverbs 26:9 Lit goes up
- Proverbs 26:10 Or A master workman produces all things, But one who hires a fool is like one who hires those who pass by
- Proverbs 26:11 Lit with his
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
