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12 Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man,
    rather than a fool in his folly.

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12 Safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
    than fools in their folly.

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Don’t speak in the ears of a fool,
    for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

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Don’t speak in the ears of fools,
    for they will scorn your insightful words.

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Don’t answer a fool according to his folly,
    lest you also be like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
    lest he be wise in his own eyes.
One who sends a message by the hand of a fool
    is cutting off feet and drinking violence.
Like the legs of the lame that hang loose,
    so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
As one who binds a stone in a sling,
    so is he who gives honor to a fool.
Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard,
    so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
10 As an archer who wounds all,
    so is he who hires a fool
    or he who hires those who pass by.
11 As a dog that returns to his vomit,
    so is a fool who repeats his folly.

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Don’t answer fools according to their folly,
    or you will become like them yourself.
Answer fools according to their folly,
    or they will deem themselves wise.
Sending messages with a fool
    is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking down violence.
As legs dangle from a disabled person,
    so does a proverb in the mouth of fools.
Like tying a stone in a sling,
    so is giving respect to a fool.
Like a thorny bush in the hand of a drunk,
    so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 Like an archer who wounds someone randomly,
    so is one who hires a fool or a passerby.
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit,
    so a fool repeats foolish mistakes.

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22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,
    yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.

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22 Even if you grind fools in a mortar,
    even grinding them along with the grain,
    their folly won’t be driven from them.

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If a wise man goes to court with a foolish man,
    the fool rages or scoffs, and there is no peace.

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When the wise make a legal charge against the foolish,
    the fools shout, they laugh—there is no calm.

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