PROVERBS A CHAPTER A DAY

CHAPTER 26

1

Like snow in summer or rain at harvest-time,

    so honor for a fool is out of place.

2 

Like a fluttering sparrow or a flying swallow,

    an undeserved curse will come home to roost.

I HOPE SO

3 

A whip for a horse, a bridle for a donkey,

    and a rod for the back of fools.

4 

Don’t answer a fool in terms of his folly,

    or you will be descending to his level;

5 

but answer a fool as his folly deserves,

    so that he won’t think he is wise.

6 

Telling a message to a fool and sending him out

    is like cutting off one’s feet and drinking violence.

VIVID

7 

The legs of the disabled hang limp and useless;

    likewise a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

COARSE

8 

Like one who ties his stone to the sling

    is he who gives honor to a fool.

9 

Like a thorn branch in the hand of a drunk

    is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

10 

A master can make anything,

    but hiring a fool is like hiring some passer-by.

11 

Just as a dog returns to his vomit,

    a fool repeats his folly.

12 

Do you see someone who thinks himself wise?

    There is more hope for a fool than for him!

THE TROUBLE ABOUT ALL THIS GATHERED TOGETHER IS TO MAKE YOU SYMPATHISE WITH FOOLS. BUT WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT THEY ARE NOT TARGETING THE INTELLECTUALLY CHALLENGED BUT THOSE WHO WILFULLY REFUSE KNOWLEDGE OR PROMOTE LIES. WE’RE TALKING TRUMP, BASICALLY.

13 

The lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the streets!

    A lion is roaming loose out there!”

14 

The door turns on its hinges,

    and the lazy man on his bed.

15 

The lazy person buries his hand in the dish

    but is too tired to return it to his mouth.

16 

A lazy man is wiser in his own view

    than seven who can answer with sense.

WERE LAZY PEOPLE MORE COMMOM THEN THAN NOW? THIS SEEMS A BIT OTT.

17 

Like someone who grabs a dog by the ears

    is a passer-by who mixes in a fight not his own.

WISDOM SAYS NO BUT SOMETIMES CIVIC DUTY SAYS YES

18 

Like a madman shooting deadly arrows and firebrands

    is one who deceives another, then says, “It was just a joke.”

YES

20 

If there’s no wood, the fire goes out;

    if nobody gossips, quarrelling stops.

YES

21 

As coals are to embers and wood to fire

    is a quarrelsome person to kindling strife.

22 

A slanderer’s words are tasty morsels;

    they slide right down into the belly.

SADLY TRUE

23 

Base silver overlaid on a clay pot

    are warm lips on a hating heart.

YES

24 

He who hates may hide it with his speech;

    but inside, he harbors stratagems.

He may speak pleasantly, but don’t trust him;

    for seven abominations are in his heart.

His hatred may be concealed by deceit,

    but his wickedness will be revealed in the public assembly.

IN A SOCIETY WHERE REPUTATION IS IMPORTANT, A MALICIOUS LIAR CAN DO REAL HARM

27 

Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,

    and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.

BOTH EXAMPLES ARE FACTUALLY UNTRUE, SO WHY DO WE THINK THEY ARE MORALLY WISE

28 

A lying tongue hates its victims,

    and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

YES, YES