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