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Proverbs 26 (CEV)

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¹ Expecting snow in summer and rain in the dry season makes more sense than honoring a fool. ² A curse you don't deserve will take wings and fly away like a sparrow or a swallow. ³ Horses and donkeys must be beaten and bridled-- and so must fools. ⁴ Don't make a fool of yourself by answering a fool. ⁵ But if you answer any fools, show how foolish they are, so they won't feel smart. ⁶ Sending a message by a fool is like chopping off your foot and drinking poison. ⁷ A fool with words of wisdom is like an athlete with legs that can't move. ⁸ Are you going to honor a fool? Why not shoot a slingshot with the rock tied tight? ⁹ A thornbush waved around in the hand of a drunkard is no worse than a proverb in the mouth of a fool. ¹⁰ It's no smarter to shoot arrows at every passerby than it is to hire a bunch of worthless nobodies. ¹¹ Dogs return to eat their vomit, just as fools repeat their foolishness. ¹² There is more hope for a fool than for someone who says, "I'm really smart!" ¹³ Don't be lazy and keep saying, "There's a lion outside!" ¹⁴ A door turns on its hinges, but a lazy person just turns over in bed. ¹⁵ Some of us are so lazy that we won't lift a hand to feed ourselves. ¹⁶ A lazy person says, "I am smarter than everyone else." ¹⁷ It's better to take hold of a mad dog by the ears than to take part in someone else's argument. ¹⁸ It's no crazier to shoot sharp and flaming arrows ¹⁹ than to cheat someone and say, "I was only fooling!" ²⁰ Where there is no fuel a fire goes out; where there is no gossip arguments come to an end. ²¹ Troublemakers start trouble, just as sparks and fuel start a fire. ²² There is nothing so delicious as the taste of gossip! It melts in your mouth. ²³ Hiding hateful thoughts behind smooth talk is like coating a clay pot with a cheap glaze. ²⁴ The pleasant talk of an enemy hides more evil plans ²⁵ than can be counted-- so don't believe a word! ²⁶ Everyone will see through those evil plans. ²⁷ If you dig a pit, you will fall in; if you start a stone rolling, it will roll back on you. ²⁸ Watch out for anyone who tells lies and flatters-- they are out to get you.