New International Version

Proverbs 26:8-22 New International Version (NIV)

8. Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.

9. Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

10. Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.

11. As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.

12. Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.

13. A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!”

14. As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.

15. A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

16. A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly.

17. Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.

18. Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death

19. is one who deceives their neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”

20. Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.

21. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

22. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.