Proverbs 26

²A bird flies and wanders freely. But a curse without a real reason will not land. Undeserved curses cannot stick.

³A horse needs a whip to keep moving. A donkey needs a bridle to be guided. A fool needs correction to change.

⁴Do not argue back in a foolish way. If you do, you become foolish too.

⁵Sometimes you must correct a fool. If you stay silent, he will think he is wise when he is not.

⁶Sending a fool with an important message is a big mistake. It is like cutting off your own feet. You will get hurt.

⁷A lame person's legs do not work right. Wise words in a fool's mouth do not work right either.

⁸Tying a stone in a sling so it cannot fly is useless. Giving honour to a fool is just as useless.

⁹A drunk man grabs a thorn branch and hurts himself without knowing it. A fool uses wise words and hurts others the same way.

¹⁰The great God made everything. He will give to the fool what the fool deserves. He will give to those who do wrong what they deserve.

¹¹A dog goes back to its vomit. It is disgusting. A fool keeps going back to the same wrong things.

¹²A man who thinks he is always right is in great danger. There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The lazy man makes up excuses. He says a lion is blocking the road. He will not go out at all.

¹⁴A door turns on its hinges but goes nowhere. A lazy person turns over in bed the same way. Lots of movement, no progress.

¹⁵The lazy man hides his hand and will not even lift it to eat. He is too lazy to feed himself.

¹⁶The lazy man thinks he is smarter than seven wise men. He is too proud to listen to anyone.

¹⁷Grabbing a strange dog by the ears is dangerous. Jumping into a fight that is not yours is just as dangerous.

¹⁸Imagine a madman throwing fire, shooting arrows, and causing death all around him.

¹⁹That is what the man is like who lies to his neighbour and then says, 'I was only joking!' He is just as dangerous.

²⁰A fire without wood will go out. Fights and quarrels without a gossip will also stop.

²¹Hot coals make a fire hotter. More wood makes a fire bigger. A quarrelsome person makes every fight worse.

²²Gossip hurts like a deep wound. The pain goes all the way inside. It does not quickly go away.

²³Smooth and flattering words that hide a wicked heart are like a broken pot covered in cheap silver. It looks fine. It is worthless inside.

²⁴Someone who hates you can smile and say nice things. But inside they are hiding deceit and ill-will.

²⁵When this kind of person speaks kindly, do not trust it. Their heart is full of wicked and terrible things.

²⁶Hidden hatred covered by lies will not stay hidden. One day God will bring all of it into the open. Everyone will see.

²⁷If you dig a pit to trap someone, you will fall into it yourself. If you roll a stone to crush someone, it will roll back and crush you.

²⁸Lying shows hatred for the person you lie about. Flattery causes ruin. Both are forms of harm.