26 Like snow in summer or rain at harvest-time,
    so honor for a fool is out of place.

² Like a fluttering sparrow or a flying swallow,
    an undeserved curse will come home to roost.

³ A whip for a horse, a bridle for a donkey,
    and a rod for the back of fools.
⁴ Don’t answer a fool in terms of his folly,
    or you will be descending to his level;
⁵ but answer a fool as his folly deserves,
    so that he won’t think he is wise.
⁶ Telling a message to a fool and sending him out
    is like cutting off one’s feet and drinking violence.
⁷ The legs of the disabled hang limp and useless;
    likewise a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
⁸ Like one who ties his stone to the sling
    is he who gives honor to a fool.
⁹ Like a thorn branch in the hand of a drunk
    is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
¹⁰ A master can make anything,
    but hiring a fool is like hiring some passer-by.
¹¹ Just as a dog returns to his vomit,
    a fool repeats his folly.
¹² Do you see someone who thinks himself wise?
    There is more hope for a fool than for him!

¹³ The lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the streets!
    A lion is roaming loose out there!”
¹⁴ The door turns on its hinges,
    and the lazy man on his bed.
¹⁵ The lazy person buries his hand in the dish
    but is too tired to return it to his mouth.
¹⁶ A lazy man is wiser in his own view
    than seven who can answer with sense.

¹⁷ Like someone who grabs a dog by the ears
    is a passer-by who mixes in a fight not his own.

¹⁸ Like a madman shooting deadly arrows and firebrands
¹⁹     is one who deceives another, then says, “It was just a joke.”

²⁰ If there’s no wood, the fire goes out;
    if nobody gossips, contention stops.
²¹ As coals are to embers and wood to fire
    is a quarrelsome person to kindling strife.

²² A slanderer’s words are tasty morsels;
    they slide right down into the belly.

²³ Like silver slag overlaid on a clay pot
    are lips that burn [with friendship] over a hating heart.
²⁴ He who hates may hide it with his speech;
    but inside, he harbors deceit.
²⁵ He may speak pleasantly, but don’t trust him;
    for seven abominations are in his heart.
²⁶ His hatred may be concealed by deceit,
    but his wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.

²⁷ Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
    and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.
²⁸ A lying tongue hates its victims,
    and a flattering mouth causes ruin.