26:1   Expecting snow in summer and rain in the dry season makes more sense than honoring a fool.

26:2   A curse you don't deserve will take wings and fly away like a sparrow or a swallow.

26:3   Horses and donkeys must be beaten and bridled-- and so must fools.

26:4   Don't make a fool of yourself by answering a fool.

26:5   But if you answer any fools, show how foolish they are, so they won't feel smart.

26:6   Sending a message by a fool is like chopping off your foot and drinking poison.

26:7   A fool with words of wisdom is like an athlete with legs that can't move.

26:8   Are you going to honor a fool? Why not shoot a slingshot with the rock tied tight?

26:9   A thornbush waved around in the hand of a drunkard is no worse than a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

26:10   It's no smarter to shoot arrows at every passerby than it is to hire a bunch of worthless nobodies.

26:11   Dogs return to eat their vomit, just as fools repeat their foolishness.

26:12   There is more hope for a fool than for someone who says, "I'm really smart!"

26:13   Don't be lazy and keep saying, "There's a lion outside!"

26:14   A door turns on its hinges, but a lazy person just turns over in bed.

26:15   Some of us are so lazy that we won't lift a hand to feed ourselves.

26:16   A lazy person says, "I am smarter than everyone else."

26:17   It's better to take hold of a mad dog by the ears than to take part in someone else's argument.

26:18   It's no crazier to shoot sharp and flaming arrows

26:19   than to cheat someone and say, "I was only fooling!"

26:20   Where there is no fuel a fire goes out; where there is no gossip arguments come to an end.

26:21   Troublemakers start trouble, just as sparks and fuel start a fire.

26:22   There is nothing so delicious as the taste of gossip! It melts in your mouth.

26:23   Hiding hateful thoughts behind smooth talk is like coating a clay pot with a cheap glaze.

26:24   The pleasant talk of an enemy hides more evil plans

26:25   than can be counted-- so don't believe a word!

26:26   Everyone will see through those evil plans.

26:27   If you dig a pit, you will fall in; if you start a stone rolling, it will roll back on you.

26:28   Watch out for anyone who tells lies and flatters-- they are out to get you.