Proverbs 26:9-20

⁹Thorns grow in the hand of a drunkard, And servitude in the hand of fools.

¹⁰All the flesh of fools endures much hardship; For their fury is brought to nought.

¹¹As when a dog goes to his own vomit, and becomes abominable, So is a fool who returns in his wickedness to his own sin.

^11aThere is a shame that brings sin: And there is a shame that is glory and grace.

¹²I have seen a man who seemed to himself to be wise; But a fool had more hope than he.

¹³A sluggard when sent on a journey says, There is a lion in the ways, And there are murderers in the streets.

¹⁴As a door turns on the hinge, So does a sluggard on his bed.

¹⁵A sluggard having hidden his hand in his bosom, Will not be able to bring it up to his mouth.

¹⁶A sluggard seems to himself wiser Than one who most satisfactorily brings back a message.

¹⁷As he that lays hold of a dog’s tail, So is he that makes himself the champion of another’s cause.

¹⁸As those who need correction put forth fair words to men, And he that first falls in with the proposal will be overthrown;

¹⁹So are all that lay wait for their own friends, And when they are discovered, say, I did it in jest.

²⁰With much wood fire increases; But where there is not a double-minded man, strife ceases.