Similitudes, Instructions
1 Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest,
So honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a sparrow initsflitting, like a swallow initsflying,
So a curse without cause does not alight.
3 A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
And a rod for the back of fools.
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Or you will also be like him.
5 Answer a fool as his follydeserves,
That he not be wise in his own eyes.
6 He cuts offhis ownfeetanddrinks violence
Who sends a message by the hand of a fool.
7 Likethe legswhichare useless to the lame,
So is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 Like one who binds a stone in a sling,
So is he who gives honor to a fool.
9 Likea thornwhichfalls into the hand of a drunkard,
So is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 Likean archer who wounds everyone,
So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by.
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit
Is a fool who 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 lion is in the open square!”
14 Asthe door turns on its hinges,
Sodoesthe sluggard on his bed.
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
Than seven men who can give a discreet answer.
17 Likeone who takes a dog by the ears
Is he who passes byandmeddles with strife not belonging to him.
18 Like a madman who throws
Firebrands, arrows and death,
19 So is the man who deceives his neighbor,
And says, “Was I not joking?”
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,
And where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.
21 Likecharcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
22 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.
23 Likean earthen vessel overlaid with silver dross
Are burning lips and a wicked heart.
24 He who hates disguisesitwith his lips,
But he lays up deceit in his heart.
25 When he speaks graciously, do not believe him,
For there are seven abominations in his heart.
26 Though hishatred covers itself with guile,
His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.
27 He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.
28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes,
And a flattering mouth works ruin.
—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PRO/26-25908a5f745b37a031e0b1d41ef62ee2.mp3?version_id=100—