World English Bible
- Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
- Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.
- A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools!
- Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.
- Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
- One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.
- Like the legs of the lame that hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
- As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.
- Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
- As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by.
- As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.
- Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!”
- As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.
- The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
- The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.
- Like one who grabs a dog’s ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.
- Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,
- is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?”
- For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
- As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife.
- The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts.
- Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.
- A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors evil in his heart.
- When his speech is charming, don’t believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.
- His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
- Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.
- A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.
Proverbs 26 is filled with things out of place: snow in summer, rain during harvest, honor given to a fool, a stone fastened into a sling, a proverb spoken by someone who refuses its wisdom, and shining metal spread over cheap pottery. The chapter’s deeper concern is not simply foolish behavior. It is incongruity—the distance between appearance and reality, speech and character, profession and practice.
In Hebrew, the “fool” here is not someone of limited intelligence. The word kesil describes a person hardened against correction. Such a person may be clever, religious, eloquent, and certain. Indeed, the chapter’s most alarming line is that there is more hope for an ordinary fool than for someone “wise in his own eyes.” The gravest folly is the conviction that folly belongs only to others.
Verses 4 and 5 deliberately place opposite commands together: do not answer a fool according to his folly—and answer him according to his folly. This is not a contradiction to be solved but wisdom’s refusal to become a formula. Sometimes answering draws us into another person’s bitterness; sometimes silence allows deception to parade as truth.
Jesus embodied both responses. He remained silent before malicious accusations, yet answered other traps by exposing the false assumptions beneath them (Matthew 26:62–63; 22:15–22). The question is not merely, “Do I have a reply?” but, “Will this reply make truth clearer, protect my neighbor, and leave me more like Christ?”
A proverb in a fool’s mouth is compared to a thorn in a drunkard’s hand. Truth itself can become a weapon when held by an unhealed heart. Knowing biblical sentences is not the same as becoming wise. Scripture must travel from the lips into the life.
The sluggard considers himself wiser than seven discerning counselors. Seven often suggests completeness in biblical literature. Laziness has therefore formed an entire imaginary council within him, unanimously approving his excuses. Later, the malicious person hides “seven abominations” in the heart. Self-deception is rarely empty; it constructs a whole inner world in which we are always innocent.
Gossip works similarly. Its “dainty morsels” descend into the “innermost parts”—literally the belly or inner chamber. We do not merely hear gossip; we consume it. It becomes an appetite, shaping how we see another person long after the words are forgotten.
The silver-coated clay vessel offers the chapter’s final warning. In the ancient world, common pottery could be covered so that it appeared more precious than it was. Warm speech may likewise conceal a cold heart. But the gospel offers more than a better coating. Christ does not polish our disguises; by his Spirit, he makes the inner and outer person one.
Consider: Where are you using true words to avoid truthful living? What quarrel would die today if you simply stopped supplying the wood?
Hymn: “Take My Life, and Let It Be”
Lord Jesus, true Wisdom of God, expose every polished disguise within me. Make my heart teachable, my silence loving, and my speech both courageous and pure. Let your Word become flesh in my habits, not merely sound upon my lips. Amen.