1Like snow in the summer and rain during the harvest, so too honor is not fitting for a fool.
2Like an aimless bird and like a flying swallow, so too an undeserved curse fails to arrive.
3A whip is for the horse, a bridle is for the donkey, and a rod is for the backs of fools.
4Do not answer a fool according to his foolishness, lest you, too, become just like him.
5Answer a fool according to his foolishness, lest he become wise in his own eyes.
6One who cuts off his own feet, and one who drinks violence, is a person who sends messages by the hand of a fool.
7Like the legs of a lame person that are withered up, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8Like one who entangles a stone in a sling, so is a person who gives honor to a fool.
9Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10Like an archer who wounds everyone, so is the one who hires a fool or hires those who are just passing by.
11Like a dog that returns to its vomit, so is a fool who repeats his foolishness.
12Do you see a person who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13A lazy person says, “There is a lion on the road! A lion in the open area!”
14As a door turns on its hinges, so does a lazy person upon his bed.
15A lazy person buries his hand in the dish; he is too tired to bring it back to his mouth.
16A lazy person is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer with good judgment.
17Like a person who seizes a dog by its ears is one who while passing by gets angry over a dispute that is not his own.
18Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows, arrows, and death,
19so is a person who deceives his neighbor, then says, “Was I not simply joking?”
20When the wood is gone, a fire will go out, and when there is no gossip, contentions will grow quiet.
21Like charcoal for hot coals and wood for fire, so a contentious person for kindling strife.
22The words of a gossip are like delicacies, and they go down into one’s innermost being.
23Like a clay vessel covered with silver dross are smootha lips and a wicked heart.
24A person who hates disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors deceit in his inner being;
25when his speech is gracious, do not believe him, for in his heart are seven abominations.
26Hatred covers itself with deception, but his evil will be uncovered in the congregation.
27The person who digs a pit will fall into it, and the person rolling a stone, it will come back upon him.
28A lying tongue hates those it oppresses, and a flattering mouth creates a calamity.