Proverbs 26

Wise Sayings About Fools

26 Just as snow should not fall in summer, nor rain at harvest time, so people should not honor a fool.

² Don’t worry when someone curses you for no reason. Nothing bad will happen. Such words are like birds that fly past and never stop.

^4-5 There is no good way to answer fools when they say something stupid. If you answer them, then you, too, will look like a fool. If you don’t answer them, they will think they are smart.

⁶ Never let a fool carry your message. If you do, it will be like cutting off your own feet. You are only asking for trouble.

⁹ A fool trying to say something wise is like a drunk trying to pick a thorn out of his hand.

¹⁰ Hiring a fool or a stranger who is just passing by is dangerous—you don’t know who might get hurt.

¹¹ Like a dog that returns to its vomit, a fool does the same foolish things again and again.

¹² People who think they are wise when they are not are worse than fools.

^18-19 Anyone who would trick someone and then say, “I was only joking” is like a fool who shoots flaming arrows into the air and accidentally kills someone.

²³ Good words that hide an evil heart are like silver paint over a cheap, clay pot. ²⁴ Evil people say things to make themselves look good, but they keep their evil plans a secret. ²⁵ What they say sounds good, but don’t trust them. They are full of evil ideas. ²⁶ They hide their evil plans with nice words, but in the end, everyone will see the evil they do.