RSV Proverbs 26 Chapter
26:1
Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
26:2
Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.
26:3
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the back of fools.
26:4
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
26:5
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
26:6
He who sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
26:7
Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
26:8
Like one who binds the stone in the sling is he who gives honor to a fool.
26:9
Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
26:10
Like an archer who wounds everybody is he who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
26:11
Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool that repeats his folly.
26:12
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
26:13
The sluggard says, 'There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!'
26:14
As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.
26:15
The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
26:16
The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer discreetly.
26:17
He who meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
26:18
Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,
26:19
is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'I am only joking!'
26:20
For lack of wood the fire goes out;and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
26:21
As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
26:22
The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;they go down into the inner parts of the body.
26:23
Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are smooth lips with an evil heart.
26:24
He who hates, dissembles with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart;
26:25
when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart;
26:26
though his hatred be covered with guile, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
26:27
He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back upon him who starts it rolling.
26:28
A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.