2. Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying, so the causeless curse does not alight. [Num. 23:8.]
3. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a [straight, slender] rod for the backs of [self-confident] fools.
4. Answer not a [self-confident] fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.
5. Answer a [self-confident] fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes and conceit. [Matt. 16:1-4; 21:24-27.]
6. He who sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off the feet [of satisfactory delivery] and drinks the damage. [Prov. 13:17.]
7. Like the legs of a lame man which hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of a fool.
8. Like he who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a [self-confident] fool.
9. Like a thorn that goes [without being felt] into the hand of a drunken man, so is a proverb in the mouth of a [self-confident] fool.
10. [But] like an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or chance passers-by.
11. As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.
12. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes and conceit? There is more hope for a [self-confident] fool than for him. [Prov. 29:20; Luke 18:11; Rom. 12:16; Rev. 3:17.]
13. The sluggard says, There is a lion in the way! A lion is in the streets! [Prov. 22:13.]