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Proverbs 26
Living Bible
Proverbs 26
Living Bible
26 Honor doesn’t go with fools any more than snow with summertime or rain with harvesttime!
2 An undeserved curse has no effect. Its intended victim will be no more harmed by it than by a sparrow or swallow flitting through the sky.
3 Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle, and a rebel with a rod to his back!
4-5 When arguing with a rebel, don’t use foolish arguments as he does, or you will become as foolish as he is! Prick his conceit with silly replies![a]
6 To trust a rebel to convey a message is as foolish as cutting off your feet and drinking poison!
7 In the mouth of a fool a proverb becomes as useless as a paralyzed leg.
8 Honoring a rebel will backfire like a stone tied to a slingshot!
9 A rebel will misapply an illustration so that its point will no more be felt than a thorn in the hand of a drunkard.
10 The master may get better work from an untrained apprentice than from a skilled rebel!
11 As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
12 There is one thing worse than a fool, and that is a man who is conceited.
13 The lazy man won’t go out and work. “There might be a lion outside!” he says. 14 He sticks to his bed like a door to its hinges! 15 He is too tired even to lift his food from his dish to his mouth! 16 Yet in his own opinion he is smarter than seven wise men.
17 Yanking a dog’s ears is no more foolish than interfering in an argument that isn’t any of your business.
18-19 A man who is caught lying to his neighbor and says, “I was just fooling,” is like a madman throwing around firebrands, arrows, and death!
20 Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and tensions disappear when gossip stops.
21 A quarrelsome man starts fights as easily as a match sets fire to paper.[b]
22 Gossip is a dainty morsel eaten with great relish.
23 Pretty words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a common clay pot.
24-26 A man with hate in his heart may sound pleasant enough, but don’t believe him; for he is cursing you in his heart. Though he pretends to be so kind, his hatred will finally come to light for all to see.
27 The man who sets a trap for others will get caught in it himself. Roll a boulder down on someone, and it will roll back and crush you.
28 Flattery is a form of hatred and wounds cruelly.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 26:4 Prick his conceit with silly replies, implied; literally, “Reply to a fool as his folly requires.”
- Proverbs 26:21 as easily as a match sets fire to paper, literally, “like coals to hot embers and wood to fire.”
Proverbs 26
New International Version
Proverbs 26
New International Version
26 Like snow in summer or rain(A) in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool.(B)
2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse does not come to rest.(C)
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,(D)
and a rod for the backs of fools!(E)
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you yourself will be just like him.(F)
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.(G)
6 Sending a message by the hands of a fool(H)
is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.
7 Like the useless legs of one who is lame
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.(I)
8 Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.(J)
9 Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.(K)
10 Like an archer who wounds at random
is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.
11 As a dog returns to its vomit,(L)
so fools repeat their folly.(M)
12 Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?(N)
There is more hope for a fool than for them.(O)
13 A sluggard says,(P) “There’s a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!”(Q)
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.(R)
15 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.(S)
16 A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven people who answer discreetly.
17 Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears
is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.
18 Like a maniac shooting
flaming arrows of death
19 is one who deceives their neighbor
and says, “I was only joking!”
20 Without wood a fire goes out;
without a gossip a quarrel dies down.(T)
21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.(U)
22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts.(V)
23 Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware
are fervent[a] lips with an evil heart.
24 Enemies disguise themselves with their lips,(W)
but in their hearts they harbor deceit.(X)
25 Though their speech is charming,(Y) do not believe them,
for seven abominations fill their hearts.(Z)
26 Their malice may be concealed by deception,
but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit(AA) will fall into it;(AB)
if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.(AC)
28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth(AD) works ruin.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 26:23 Hebrew; Septuagint smooth
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.