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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 Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs
    than to confront a fool immersed in folly.(A)

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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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Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
    who will only despise the wisdom of your words.(A)

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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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Do not answer fools according to their folly,
    lest you be a fool yourself.(A)
Answer fools according to their folly,
    lest they be wise in their own eyes.(B)
It is like cutting off one’s foot and drinking down violence,
    to send a message by a fool.
The legs of a lame person hang limp;
    so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.(C)
It is like binding a stone in a sling
    to give honor to a fool.(D)
Like a thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard
    is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.(E)
10 Like an archer who wounds everybody
    is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.[a]
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit
    is a fool who reverts to his folly.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. 26.10 Meaning of Heb uncertain

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 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
    along with crushed grain,
    but the folly will not be driven out.(A)

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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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If the wise go to law with fools,
    there is ranting and ridicule without relief.

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