1Honoring someone stupid is as inappropriate as snow in the summer or rain during harvest.

2A curse that isn't deserved won't land on the person, like a fluttering sparrow or a flitting swallow.

3Horses need a whip, donkeys need a bridle, and stupid people need a rod on their backs!

4Don't answer stupid people following their stupidity, or you'll become as bad as them.

5Answer stupid people following their stupidity, otherwise they'll think they're wise. ⁷³

6Trusting someone stupid to deliver a message is like cutting off your feet or drinking poison.

7A proverb spoken by someone stupid is as useless as a lame person's legs.

8Honoring someone stupid is as pointless as tying a stone into a sling. ⁷⁴

9A proverb spoken by someone stupid is as ridiculous as a thorn bush waved around by a drunk.

10Anyone who hires someone stupid or just a passer-by is like an archer wounding people by shooting arrows at random. ⁷⁵

11Stupid people repeat their stupidity like a dog returning to its vomit.

12Have you seen a man who is wise in his own eyes? There's more hope for stupid people than for him!

13Lazy people are the ones who say, “There's a lion on the road—a lion running around the streets!” ⁷⁶

14A lazy person turns in bed like a door turns on its hinge.

15Lazy people put their hands in a dish, but are too tired to lift the food to their mouths.

16In their own eyes lazy people are wiser than many ⁷⁷sensible advisors.

17Interfering in someone else's quarrel is like grabbing a stray dog by the ears.

18You're like a crazy person firing off blazing arrows and killing people

19if you lie to your friend and then say, “I was only joking!”

20Without wood, the fire goes out; and without gossips, arguments stop.

21An argumentative person fires up quarrels like putting charcoal on hot embers or wood on a fire.

22Listening to gossip is like gulping down bites of your favorite food—they go deep down inside you.

23Smooth ⁷⁸talking with evil intent is like a shiny lead glaze on an earthenware pot. ⁷⁹

24People say nice things to you even though they hate you; deep down they're just lying to you.

25When people talk nicely to you, don't believe them—their minds are full of hate for you.

26Even though their hatred may be hidden by cunning tricks, their evil will be revealed to everyone.

27Those who dig pits to trap others will fall in themselves, and those who start boulders rolling will be crushed themselves.

28If you tell lies, you show you hate your victims; if you flatter people, you cause disaster.