Home Prior Books Index
←Prev   Proverbs 26 as rendered by/in  Next→ 

Did you notice?
 You can SEARCH IslamAwakened: 

26:1  Like snow in the summer and rain in the time of harvest, so honor is never fitting for a fool.
26:2  Like a bird that flits and flutters or a swallow in mid-flight, so a curse that lacks cause will never come to light.
26:3  A whip is for the horse, a bridle is for the donkey, and a rod is for the fool’s back.
26:4  Never answer a fool on his own foolish terms, or you will become like him;
26:5  Rather, answer a fool on his own foolish terms, or he will become wise in his own eyes.
26:6  Like someone who cuts off his feet or drinks to his ruin, so is the one who uses a fool to pass on his message.
26:7  As lame legs are useless, dangling on the crippled, so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
26:8  Like one who ties a stone in his slingshot, so is one who honors a fool.
26:9  Like a thorn in the hand of a drunkard, so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
26:10  Like an archer who shoots at random and injures everyone, so is a person who hires a fool or someone off the street.
26:11  Like a dog who goes back to his own vomit, so is a fool who always returns to his foolishness.
26:12  Have you seen a person who is wise in his own sight? Know that there is more hope for a fool than for him.
26:13  A lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the road! A lion in the streets! Another good reason to stay in today.”
26:14  As a door swings on its hinges and goes nowhere, so a slacker turns over in his bed.
26:15  Some people are so lazy that they reach for food on the plate but lack the will to bring it up to their mouths.
26:16  The slacker sees himself as wiser by far than seven men who can converse intelligently.
26:17  Like a man who seizes a wild dog by the ears, so is anyone who walks by and meddles in someone else’s argument.
26:18  Like a madman who hurls flaming spears and shoots deadly arrows,
26:19  So is anyone who deceives a neighbor and then says, “But I was only joking with you.”
26:20  When there is no wood, the fire goes out; when there is no one to spread gossip, arguing stops.
26:21  Like charcoal to smoldering embers and dry wood to a fire, so a hot-tempered man kindles strife.
26:22  Whispered gossip is like a delicious first course: it is devoured with pleasure and then penetrates deep within you.
26:23  Like a shiny glaze coating a rough clay pot, so are burning lips that conceal an evil heart.
26:24  One who hates may camouflage it beneath pleasant words, but deep inside him, treachery still rages;
26:25  Don’t believe him when he speaks kindly because his heart is completely ruled by evil.
26:26  And though he covers his hatred with cleverness, his wicked ways will be publicly exposed.
26:27  The one who digs a trap for another will fall into it, and the one who starts rolling a stone will have it roll back over him.
26:28  Liars take no pity on those they crush with their lies, and flattery spoils everyone it touches.