1 Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor is inappropriate for a fool.
2 Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow, an undeserved curse goes nowhere .
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools.
4 Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his foolishness or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.
6 The one who sends a message by a fool’s hand cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
7 A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like lame legs that hang limp.
8 Giving honor to a fool is like binding a stone in a sling.
9 A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a stick with thorns, brandished by the hand of a drunkard.
10 The one who hires a fool or who hires those passing by is like an archer who wounds everyone.
11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The slacker says, “ There’s a lion in the road — a lion in the public square! ”
14 A door turns on its hinges, and a slacker, on his bed.
15 The slacker buries his hand in the bowl; he is too weary to bring it to his mouth.
16 In his own eyes, a slacker is wiser than seven men who can answer sensibly.
17 A person who is passing by and meddles in a quarrel that’s not his is like one who grabs a dog by the ears.
18 Like a madman who throws flaming darts and deadly arrows,
19 so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “ I was only joking! ”
20 Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down.
21 As charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
22 A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being .
23 Smooth lips with an evil heart are like glaze on an earthen vessel.
24 A hateful person disguises himself with his speech and harbors deceit within .
25 When he speaks graciously, don’t believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.
