¹² May a man meet a she-bear robbed of offspring
    and not a fool in his folly.

⁹ In the ears of a fool do not speak,
    for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly
    lest you become like him—even you.
⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly,
    or else he will be wise in his own eyes.
⁶ Like cutting off feet or drinking violence,
    so is he who sends messages in the hand of a fool.
⁷ Like legs that hang limp from a lame person,
    so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
⁸ Like binding a stone in a sling,
    so is giving honor to a fool.
⁹ 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.

²² If you crush a fool in the mortar with the pestle along with^[a] the crushed grain,
    it will not drive folly from upon him.

⁹ If a wise man goes to court with a foolish man,
    then there is rankling and ridicule,^[a] but there is no relief.