Proverbs Monthly
26 Like snow in summer and like (A)rain in harvest,
So glory is not (B)fitting for a fool.
2 Like a (C)sparrow in its [a]flitting, like a swallow in flying,
So a (D)curse without cause does not come to pass.
3 A (E)whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
And a (F)rod for the back of fools.
4 (G)Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest you yourself also be like him.
5 (H)Answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest he be (I)wise in his own eyes.
6 He cuts off his own feet and drinks violence
Who sends words by the hand of a fool.
7 Like the legs which hang limp on the lame,
So is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 Like [b]one who binds a stone in a sling,
So is he who gives glory to a fool.
9 Like a thorn which goes up into the hand of a drunkard,
So is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 [c]Like an archer who wounds everyone,
So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by.
11 Like (J)a dog that returns to its vomit
Is a fool who (K)repeats [d]his folly.
12 Do you see a man (L)wise in his own eyes?
(M)There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The (N)sluggard says, “There is a fierce lion in the road!
A lion is [e]among the streets!”
14 As the door turns on its hinges,
So does the (O)sluggard on his bed.
15 The (P)sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
He is too weary to return it to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is (Q)wiser in his own eyes
Than seven men who can respond with a discreet answer.
17 Like one who seizes a dog by the ears
Is he who passes by and becomes passionate about (R)strife not belonging to him.
18 Like a madman who shoots
(S)Firebrands, arrows, and death,
19 So is the man who (T)deceives his neighbor,
And says, “(U)Am I not joking?”
20 With no wood the fire goes out,
And where there is no (V)whisperer, (W)strife quiets down.
21 Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
So is a (X)contentious man to kindle strife.
22 The (Y)words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the stomach.
23 Like an earthen (Z)vessel overlaid with silver (AA)dross
Are fiery lips and an evil heart.
24 He who (AB)hates disguises it with his lips,
But he sets up (AC)deceit within himself.
25 When he (AD)makes his voice gracious, do not believe him,
For there are seven abominations in his heart.
26 Though his hatred (AE)covers itself with guile,
His evil will be (AF)revealed in the assembly.
27 He who (AG)digs a pit will fall into it,
And he who rolls a stone, it will turn back on him.
28 A lying tongue hates [f]those it crushes,
And a (AH)flattering mouth works ruin.
Instructions and Warnings
27 (AI)Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you (AJ)do not know what a day may bring forth.
2 Let a (AK)stranger praise you, and not your own mouth;
A foreigner, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and the sand weighty,
But the provocation of an ignorant fool is heavier than both of them.
4 Wrath is cruelty and anger is a flood,
But (AL)who can stand before jealousy?
5 Better is reproof that is (AM)revealed
Than love that is hidden.
6 Faithful are the (AN)wounds of a friend,
But [g]deceitful are the (AO)kisses of an enemy.
7 A satisfied soul tramples the honeycomb,
But to a hungry soul any bitter thing is sweet.
8 Like a (AP)bird that wanders from her nest,
So is a man who (AQ)wanders from his place.
9 (AR)Oil and incense make the heart glad,
So counsel from the [h]soul is sweet to his friend.
10 Do not forsake your (AS)friend or (AT)your father’s friend,
And do not come to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster;
Better is one who dwells near than a brother far away.
11 (AU)Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
That I may (AV)respond with a word to him who reproaches me.
12 A prudent man sees evil and hides,
The simple pass on and are punished.
13 (AW)Take his garment when he becomes a guarantor for a stranger;
And for [i]a foreign woman seize it as a pledge.
14 (AX)He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,
It will be counted as a curse to him.
15 A (AY)constant dripping on a day of steady rain
And a contentious woman are alike;
16 He who would [j]restrain her [k]restrains the wind,
And [l]grasps oil with his right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.
18 He who guards the (AZ)fig tree will eat its fruit,
And he who (BA)keeps watch for his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man.
20 (BB)Sheol and Abaddon are (BC)never satisfied,
So the (BD)eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 The (BE)refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And each (BF)is tested by the mouth that praises him.
22 Though you (BG)pound an ignorant fool in a mortar with a pestle in the midst of crushed grain,
His [m]folly will not turn aside from him.
23 (BH)Know well the [n]condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds;
24 For wealth is not forever,
Neither is a (BI)crown from generation to generation.
25 When the grass disappears and the vegetation appears,
And the herbs of the mountains are (BJ)gathered in,
26 The lambs will be for your clothing,
And the goats will bring the price of a field,
27 And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
For the food of your household,
And sustenance for your maidens.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.