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26Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
   so honour is not fitting for a fool.
² Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
   an undeserved curse goes nowhere.
³ A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
   and a rod for the back of fools.
⁴ Do not answer fools according to their folly,
   or you will be a fool yourself.
⁵ Answer fools according to their folly,
   or they will be wise in their own eyes.
⁶ It is like cutting off one’s foot and drinking down violence,
   to send a message by a fool.
⁷ The legs of a disabled person hang limp;
   so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
⁸ It is like binding a stone in a sling
   to give honour to a fool.
⁹ Like a thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard
   is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
¹⁰ Like an archer who wounds everybody
   is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.^*
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit
   is a fool who reverts to his folly.
¹² Do you see persons wise in their own eyes?
   There is more hope for fools than for them.
¹³ The lazy person says, ‘There is a lion in the road!
   There is a lion in the streets!’
¹⁴ As a door turns on its hinges,
   so does a lazy person in bed.
¹⁵ The lazy person buries a hand in the dish,
   and is too tired to bring it back to the mouth.
¹⁶ The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem
   than seven who can answer discreetly.
¹⁷ Like somebody who takes a passing dog by the ears
   is one who meddles in the quarrel of another.
¹⁸ Like a maniac who shoots deadly firebrands and arrows,
¹⁹ so is one who deceives a neighbour
   and says, ‘I am only joking!’
²⁰ For lack of wood the fire goes out,
   and where there is no whisperer, quarrelling ceases.
²¹ As charcoal is to hot embers and wood to fire,
   so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
²² The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
   they go down into the inner parts of the body.
²³ Like the glaze^* covering an earthen vessel
   are smooth^* lips with an evil heart.
²⁴ An enemy dissembles in speaking
   while harbouring deceit within;
²⁵ when an enemy speaks graciously, do not believe it,
   for there are seven abominations concealed within;
²⁶ though hatred is covered with guile,
   the enemy’s wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
²⁷ Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
   and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.
²⁸ A lying tongue hates its victims,
   and a flattering mouth works ruin.

27Do not boast about tomorrow,
   for you do not know what a day may bring.
² Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—
   a stranger, and not your own lips.
³ A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
   but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
⁴ Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
   but who is able to stand before jealousy?
⁵ Better is open rebuke
   than hidden love.
⁶ Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts,
   but profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
⁷ The sated appetite spurns honey,
   but to a ravenous appetite even the bitter is sweet.
⁸ Like a bird that strays from its nest
   is one who strays from home.
⁹ Perfume and incense make the heart glad,
   but the soul is torn by trouble.^*
10 Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your parent;
   do not go to the house of your kindred on the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbour who is nearby
   than kindred who are far away.
¹¹ Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
   so that I may answer whoever reproaches me.
¹² The clever see danger and hide;
   but the simple go on, and suffer for it.
¹³ Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;
   seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.^*
14 Whoever blesses a neighbour with a loud voice,
   rising early in the morning,
   will be counted as cursing.
¹⁵ A continual dripping on a rainy day
   and a contentious wife are alike;
¹⁶ to restrain her is to restrain the wind
   or to grasp oil in the right hand.^*
17 Iron sharpens iron,
   and one person sharpens the wits^* of another.
¹⁸ Anyone who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
   and anyone who takes care of a master will be honoured.
¹⁹ Just as water reflects the face,
   so one human heart reflects another.
²⁰ Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
   and human eyes are never satisfied.
²¹ The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
   so a person is tested^* by being praised.
²² Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
   along with crushed grain,
   but the folly will not be driven out.

²³ Know well the condition of your flocks,
   and give attention to your herds;
²⁴ for riches do not last for ever,
   nor a crown for all generations.
²⁵ When the grass is gone, and new growth appears,
   and the herbage of the mountains is gathered,
²⁶ the lambs will provide your clothing,
   and the goats the price of a field;
²⁷ there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
   for the food of your household
   and nourishment for your servant-girls.

28The wicked flee when no one pursues,
   but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
² When a land rebels
   it has many rulers;
but with an intelligent ruler
   there is lasting order.^*
3 A ruler^* who oppresses the poor
   is a beating rain that leaves no food.
⁴ Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
   but those who keep the law struggle against them.
⁵ The evil do not understand justice,
   but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.
⁶ Better to be poor and walk in integrity
   than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich.
⁷ Those who keep the law are wise children,
   but companions of gluttons shame their parents.
⁸ One who augments wealth by exorbitant interest
   gathers it for another who is kind to the poor.
⁹ When one will not listen to the law,
   even one’s prayers are an abomination.
¹⁰ Those who mislead the upright into evil ways
   will fall into pits of their own making,
   but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.
¹¹ The rich is wise in self-esteem,
   but an intelligent poor person sees through the pose.
¹² When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,
   but when the wicked prevail, people go into hiding.
¹³ No one who conceals transgressions will prosper,
   but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
¹⁴ Happy is the one who is never without fear,
   but one who is hard-hearted will fall into calamity.
¹⁵ Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
   is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
¹⁶ A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor;
   but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life.
¹⁷ If someone is burdened with the blood of another,
   let that killer be a fugitive until death;
   let no one offer assistance.
¹⁸ One who walks in integrity will be safe,
   but whoever follows crooked ways will fall into the Pit.^*
19 Anyone who tills the land will have plenty of bread,
   but one who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
²⁰ The faithful will abound with blessings,
   but one who is in a hurry to be rich will not go unpunished.
²¹ To show partiality is not good—
   yet for a piece of bread a person may do wrong.
²² The miser is in a hurry to get rich
   and does not know that loss is sure to come.
²³ Whoever rebukes a person will afterwards find more favour
   than one who flatters with the tongue.
²⁴ Anyone who robs father or mother
   and says, ‘That is no crime’,
   is partner to a thug.
²⁵ The greedy person stirs up strife,
   but whoever trusts in the Lord will be enriched.
²⁶ Those who trust in their own wits are fools;
   but those who walk in wisdom come through safely.
²⁷ Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing,
   but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse.
²⁸ When the wicked prevail, people go into hiding;
   but when they perish, the righteous increase.