^1. Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool.

^2. Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

^3. A whip for the horse, a halter for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!

^4. Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.

^5. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.

^6. Like cutting off one's feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.

^7. Like a lame man's legs that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

^8. Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.

^9. Like a thornbush in a drunkard's hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

^10. Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or any passer-by.

^11. As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

^12. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

^13. The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!"

^14. As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.

^15. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

^16. The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.

^17. Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

^18. Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows

^19. is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!"

^20. Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.

^21. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

^22. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts.

^23. Like a coating of glaze [1] over earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart.

^24. A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit.

^25. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.

^26. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

^27. If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.

^28. A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.