¹ Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool.
² Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
³ A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools!
⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you yourself will be just like him.
⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.
⁶ Sending a message by the hands of a fool
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.
⁸ Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.
⁹ Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
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,
so fools repeat their folly.
¹² Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for them.
¹³ A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!”
¹⁴ As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.
¹⁵ A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
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.
²¹ As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
²² The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts.
²³ Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
²⁴ Enemies disguise themselves with their lips,
but in their hearts they harbor deceit.
²⁵ Though their speech is charming, do not believe them,
for seven abominations fill their hearts.
²⁶ Their malice may be concealed by deception,
but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
²⁷ Whoever digs a pit will fall into it;
if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.
²⁸ A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.