Proverbs 26:18-24

¹⁸Crazy people who shoot burning arrows to kill people

¹⁹are as foolish as those who deceive someone else and then say, “I was only joking.”

²⁰If there is no more firewood to put on the fire, the fire will go out; similarly SIM, if there are no people who ◄gossip/tell people things that are not true►, quarreling will end.

²¹Putting charcoal on burning coals or putting wood on a fire causes the fire to keep burning; similarly, people who like to quarrel cause people to keep arguing.

²²People enjoy listening to what gossips say about others just like SIM they enjoy tasty food; they enjoy listening to what gossips tell them like they enjoy swallowing tasty food.

²³People who say nice things when they are thinking about doing evil things are like a nice glaze/covering on a cheap clay pot.

²⁴Those who hate someone and are saying MTY something very different from what they are thinking are hypocrites; they are only planning to harm that person.