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On Fools

26 Like snowfall in summer or rain at harvest time,
so honor is inappropriate for a fool.

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26 Like snow in the summer and like rain at the harvest,
    so honor is not fitting for a fool.

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A whip is for the horses,
    a bridle is for the donkey,
        a rod is for the back of fools.
Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness,
    or you will be just like him.
Answer a fool according to his foolishness,
    or he will think himself to be wise.
Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool
    cuts off his own[a] feet and drinks violence.
Useless legs to the lame—
    that’s what a proverb quoted by a fool is.
Tying a stone to a sling—
    that’s what giving honor to a fool is.
A thorn in the hand of a drunkard—
    that’s what a proverb quoted by a fool is.
10 An archer who shoots at anyone—
    is like someone who hires a fool or anyone who passes by.
11 A dog that returns to its vomit
    is like a fool who reverts to his folly.
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own opinion?
    There’s more hope for a fool than for him.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:6 The Heb. lacks his own

A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
    and a rod for the back of fools.
Do not answer a fool according to his folly
    lest you become like him—even you.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
    or else he will be wise in his own eyes.
Like cutting off feet or drinking violence,
    so is he who sends messages in the hand of a fool.
Like legs that hang limp from a lame person,
    so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
Like binding a stone in a sling,
    so is giving honor to a fool.
Like a thorn that goes up in the hand of a drunkard,
    so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 Like an archer who wounds everyone,
    so is he who hires a fool or he who hires passersby.
11 Like a dog returning to his vomit
    is a fool reverting to his folly.
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
    There is more hope for a fool than for him.

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