1 Honors do not suit the fool any more than snow in summer and rain at harvest.
2 The sparrow escapes, the swallow flies off, so the motiveless curse will have no effect.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, a stick for the backs of fools.
4 Do not answer the stupidity of fools lest you become like them.
5 Answer the stupidity of the fool lest he consider himself intelligent.
6 He who sends messages by a fool is cutting his own feet.
7 Like the unsteady legs of a lame man, such is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 Honoring a fool is like tying a stone in a sling.
9 Like a thorn branch in a drunkard’s hands, such is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 Like an archer wounding all pass ers by, so is he who employs a fool.
11 The fool reverts to his stupidity just as a dog returns to his vomit.
12 See that man who thinks himself wise? There is more hope for a fool!
13 “There’s a lion in the street,” the lazy man says, “a lion in the square.”
14 The door turns on its hinges and the lazy man, on his bed.
15 The idler dips his hand in the dish but is too tired to lift it to his mouth.
16 The idler considers himself wiser than many people who answer tactfully.
17 Interfering in the disputes of others is like grabbing a passing dog by the tail.
18 As a madman hurls flaming, deadly arrows,
19 so does the one who lies to his friend and then says, “It was just a joke.”
20 For lack of wood, the fire goes out; for want of a gossiper, the quarrel dies down.
21 Charcoal on hot coals, wood on a fire, and a quarrelsome man for stirring up disputes.
22 The words of the gossiper are delicious mouthfuls which go right down to the bottom of the stomach.
23 Like silver on earthenware, so are smooth lips with a corrupt heart.
24 The one who hates, disguises his words and keeps his treachery inside;
25 do not trust his sweet language for seven evils fill his heart.
26 But although he conceals his hatred like a hypocrite, his evil will be revealed in the assembly.
27 He who digs a pit falls in it and the rock he rolls away falls back on him.
28 The liar hates his victims, the flattering mouth brings destruction.