Proverbs 26

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Proverbs 26 details various behavioral archetypes, primarily focusing on the characteristics and actions of the fool, the slacker, the gossip, and the deceitful person. The text compares the unsuitability of honor for a fool and the repetition of foolishness to a dog returning to its vomit. It describes the physical inactivity and excuses of the slacker who remains in bed and finds effort exhausting. Furthermore, the chapter outlines the dangers of meddling in outside quarrels, deceiving neighbors, and fueling conflicts through gossip and wood-burning imagery. Finally, it notes that hidden hatred and wickedness will eventually be exposed, and those who create traps or deception will ultimately experience the consequences themselves.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor does not befit a fool. ²Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest. ³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools! ⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him. ⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes. ⁶Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool. ⁷Like lame legs hanging limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. ⁸Like binding a stone into a sling is the giving of honor to a fool. ⁹Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. ¹⁰Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or passerby. ¹¹As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. ¹²Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. ¹³The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!” ¹⁴As a door turns on its hinges, so the slacker turns on his bed. ¹⁵The slacker buries his hand in the dish; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth. ¹⁶The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly. ¹⁷Like one who grabs a dog by the ears is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own. ¹⁸Like a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows, ¹⁹so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!” ²⁰Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases. ²¹Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. ²²The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being. ²³Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart. ²⁴A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart. ²⁵When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. ²⁶Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. ²⁷He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him. ²⁸A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.