1 As snow does not belong in summer, nor rain in harvest, so honor does not belong to a fool.
2 As a sparrow flits about and a swallow darts here and there, so a curse without cause will come back to him who utters it.
3 The whip is for the horse, the bridle for the donkey, and the rod for the backs of fools.
4 Do not answer a fool in keeping with his folly, or you yourself will be like him.
5 Answer a fool in keeping with his folly, or he will be wise in his own sight.
6 One who sends a message through a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks down violence.
7 As the legs of a lame man dangle, so does a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 As one who ties a stone into a sling, so is one who gives honor to a fool.
9 As a thorn lodged in a drunkard's hand, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 As an archer who wounds all, so is one who hires a fool or hires whoever passes by.
11 As a dog goes back to its vomit, so a fool goes back to his folly.
12 Do you see a man who thinks himself wise? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The lazy man says, "There is a lion on the road, a lion in the open streets!"
14 The door turns on its hinge, and the lazy man turns on his bed.
15 The lazy man dips his hand in the bowl; he is too tired to lift it back to his mouth.
16 The lazy man is wiser in his own sight than seven who can give a sensible reply.
17 Like someone grabbing a dog by the ears is a passerby who gets worked up over a quarrel that is not his.
18 Like a madman shooting firebrands, arrows and death
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and then says, "Was I not only joking?"
20 Without wood a fire goes out, and without a gossip a quarrel dies down.
21 As charcoal is to embers and wood to fire, so a quarrelsome man is to kindling strife.
22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down into the inmost parts.
23 Like a glaze of silver dross over a clay pot are fervent lips with an evil heart.
24 One who hates conceals it with his lips, but inside he harbors deceit.
25 Though his voice is charming, do not trust him, for seven abominations fill his heart.
26 His hatred may be hidden by trickery, but his wickedness will be laid bare before the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will roll back on the one who sets it rolling.
28 A lying tongue hates those it has crushed, and a flattering mouth brings ruin.