4Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.
5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.
7Like the legs of the lame that hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
8As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honour to a fool.
9Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
10As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by.
11As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.
12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!”
14As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.
15The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.
17Like one who grabs a dog’s ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.
18Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,
19is the man who deceives his neighbour and says, “Am I not joking?”
20For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
21As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife.
Proverbs 26
Proverbs 26:4-21