Proverbs Chapter 26
Showing all 28 verses for Proverbs Chapter 26.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool. "
"Just as snow in summer or rain during harvest season is completely out of place, giving honour to a fool is equally wrong and unnatural."
Be thoughtful about who you elevate and praise - honour given to the wrong character does real damage, both to the person receiving it and to everyone who has to live with the consequences. Look for wisdom and integrity, not just charisma or confidence, before you hand someone your trust or admiration.
"As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come. "
"Just as a fluttering bird or a darting swallow never actually settles where you'd expect, an undeserved curse never actually lands on you either - it just flies past."
If you're living with integrity and someone still speaks ill of you unfairly, don't let their words control your peace - unjust words don't have the power over you that they seem to claim. Rest in the truth of who you actually are, not in what unfair voices say about you.
"A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back. "
"A horse needs a whip, a donkey needs a bridle, and a fool needs firm discipline to keep him in line."
You can't talk everyone into wisdom - some people only learn through consequences, and that's not a failure on your part. Don't exhaust yourself trying to reason endlessly with someone who has closed their ears; sometimes the most loving thing is to let natural consequences do the teaching.
"Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. "
"Don't respond to a fool's foolish talk in the same foolish way, or you'll end up just as foolish as he is."
You don't have to match someone's foolishness to prove them wrong - sometimes staying calm and refusing to stoop to their level is the strongest response you can give. Guard your own character even in the heat of an argument; don't let someone else's foolishness pull you down to where they are.
"Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. "
"But sometimes you should respond to a fool according to his foolishness, or else he'll go on thinking he's actually wise."
Wisdom isn't a formula you apply the same way every time - it's discernment, learned through paying attention. Sometimes I want you to let foolish words go unanswered; other times, love for truth and for the people listening means you need to speak up. Ask, each time, which one actually serves the people involved.
"He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutheth off the feet, and drinketh damage. "
"Sending an important message through a fool is like cutting off your own feet - you're just asking for trouble and harm."
Be wise about who you trust with something important to you - setting someone up to fail, or failing to notice they aren't equipped for the task, isn't kindness to them or to yourself. Match the responsibility to the person, and don't be afraid to be honest about someone's limits, including your own.
"The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools. "
"Just as a disabled person's legs don't work properly together, a wise saying spoken by a fool comes out useless and doesn't function as it should."
It's not enough to know the right words to say - live them, or they'll ring hollow coming from you. I care far more about the wisdom that actually shapes how you live than about how eloquently you can quote it to other people.
"As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honour to a fool. "
"Giving honour to a fool is as pointless and dangerous as tying a stone into a slingshot so it can't be thrown - you've disabled the very tool meant to work."
Think carefully before you hand someone influence, status or a platform - putting the wrong person in that position doesn't just fail to help; it can actively cause harm to everyone around them. Discernment about who you elevate is an act of care for your whole community, not just a personal preference.
"As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. "
"Just as a drunk person handling a thorny branch ends up hurting himself without even noticing, a wise saying in a fool's mouth causes harm without the fool even realising it."
Understanding matters as much as knowledge - don't just collect wise sayings to repeat, actually let them shape how you see and treat people. Wisdom handled carelessly can wound others just as easily as it can help them, so hold it with care and humility.
"The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors. "
"God, the great Creator who made everything, gives fitting reward and consequence to both the fool and to those who deliberately do wrong."
You don't have to be the one keeping score on other people's foolishness or wrongdoing - that's not your job to carry. Let go of the need to personally make sure everyone 'gets what's coming to them'; trust that real justice exists at a level bigger than what you can control, and spend your energy on your own integrity instead.
"As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. "
"Just as a dog goes back and eats its own vomit, a fool keeps going back to repeat the same foolish mistakes over and over."
I know how hard it is to break a pattern you've already regretted once. But I want you to notice the moment you're about to return to something you know hurts you, and choose differently this time - real change isn't about never falling, it's about refusing to keep circling back to the same wound.
"Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. "
"Do you see someone who thinks he's wise all by himself? There's actually more hope for an obvious fool than for him."
Stay humble enough to keep learning - the moment you're sure you've got it all figured out is the moment you stop growing. I'd rather you admit what you don't know than protect an image of having all the answers; humility keeps the door to real wisdom open.
"The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. "
"The lazy person says, 'There's a lion on the road! There's a lion in the streets!' - as an excuse not to go outside and work."
Notice when your excuses for avoiding something are getting a little too elaborate - that's usually a sign the real obstacle is inside you, not outside. I don't ask you to be reckless, but I do ask you to be honest with yourself about the difference between genuine caution and dressed-up avoidance.
"As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. "
"Just as a door swings back and forth on its hinges without going anywhere, a lazy person just turns over in bed without ever actually getting up."
Ask yourself honestly whether you're actually moving forward or just shifting position without going anywhere - busyness and restlessness aren't the same as real progress. Get up. Whatever it is you keep circling around, take the first real step today rather than tomorrow.
"The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. "
"The lazy person tucks his hand into his robe and can't even be bothered to lift it back up to feed himself."
Left unchecked, avoidance and laziness don't stay small - they grow until they start costing you things you actually need. Don't wait until inaction has cost you something serious; build the habit of finishing what you start, even in small things, starting today.
"The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. "
"The lazy person thinks he's wiser than seven genuinely sensible people who can each give solid reasons for what they think."
Be willing to hear from people wiser or more disciplined than you, especially about the areas of your life where you're most tempted to make excuses. The moment you decide you know better than everyone who's telling you something you don't want to hear, you've shut the door on your own growth.
"He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears. "
"Someone who butts into an argument that isn't their business is like a person grabbing a strange dog by the ears - asking to get bitten."
Not every conflict needs your input - sometimes the wisest, most loving thing you can do is let two other people work out their own disagreement without you stepping in uninvited. Ask yourself honestly whether you're helping or just inserting yourself where you weren't asked.
"As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, "
"Like a lunatic randomly hurling flaming sticks, arrows and deadly weapons around -"
Words and 'jokes' that deceive or wound someone aren't harmless just because you didn't mean serious damage - real harm doesn't need real malice behind it to still be real harm. Take responsibility for the impact of what you say, not just the intention behind it.
"So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport? "
"...so is the person who deceives or tricks someone and then says, 'I was only joking!'"
If something you've done or said has genuinely hurt someone, 'I was joking' doesn't undo that hurt - have the humility to actually own the impact rather than hiding behind the excuse. Real love takes responsibility for the wounds it causes, even accidental ones, rather than deflecting them.
"Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. "
"Just as a fire dies out when there's no more wood to burn, arguments and conflict die out when there's no gossip feeding them."
If you want to see less conflict around you, start by refusing to be the one who carries the story from one person to another. You have real power to starve a fire of gossip just by declining to add your own piece of wood to it.
"As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. "
"Just as fresh coals feed a fire and wood keeps it burning, a quarrelsome person is exactly what keeps conflict alive and burning."
Be honest with yourself about whether you're someone who calms conflict or someone who keeps it burning - it's an uncomfortable question, but worth asking. If you notice you enjoy stirring things up, bring that before me honestly; peace-making is a far better legacy than being remembered as someone who always kept the fire going.
"The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. "
"Gossip goes down deep - it doesn't just stay on the surface, it wounds people right to their core."
Before you repeat something about someone else, remember it will land far deeper than the throwaway moment it takes you to say it. Words travel light but wound heavy - guard your speech about others as carefully as you'd want your own reputation guarded.
"Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross. "
"Smooth, warm-sounding words covering up an evil heart are like a cheap clay pot coated with a layer of worthless silver-looking glaze - all shine on the outside, worthless underneath."
Don't be won over by how good someone sounds - watch what's underneath the words over time. I want you to be a person whose insides match your outside, where kindness in your speech actually reflects a genuinely kind heart, not a coating over something else.
"He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; "
"Someone who secretly hates another person disguises it with their words, while quietly storing up deceit inside themselves."
Deal with your own hurt and anger honestly rather than burying it under a mask of pleasantness - unresolved hatred stored up inside doesn't disappear, it festers and eventually shows itself. I'd rather you bring your real feelings honestly into the light than let them quietly poison you from within.
"When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. "
"When such a person speaks kindly to you, don't take it at face value - there's a whole list of evil intentions hidden inside them."
Wisdom and love aren't opposites - you can genuinely care about someone while still being clear-eyed about a pattern of deceit you've seen in them. Don't confuse naivety with grace; real love sees people honestly, including their capacity for hidden harm, and responds wisely rather than blindly.
"Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation. "
"Even if someone manages to hide their hatred through deception for a while, their wickedness will eventually be exposed publicly, in front of everyone."
You don't have to be the one to unmask every hidden liar or expose every hypocrite you meet - truth has a way of surfacing on its own timeline, and it's not your job to force that process. Focus on keeping your own heart honest, and trust that what's hidden doesn't stay hidden forever.
"Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him. "
"Whoever digs a trap for someone else will fall into it themselves, and whoever sets a heavy stone rolling towards someone will end up crushed by it themselves."
Don't waste your energy scheming against someone who's wronged you - not necessarily because you won't get away with it, but because plotting harm reshapes you into someone smaller and more bitter than you were meant to be. Let go of the trap you're tempted to dig; walk away from it and let your own hands stay clean.
"A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin. "
"A lying tongue ends up hating the very people it's hurt, and flattering, insincere talk brings about ruin."
Be honest, even when it costs you something, because dishonesty doesn't stay contained - it grows into contempt for the very people it's harmed, and it eventually brings ruin on the relationship and on you. I'd rather you speak an uncomfortable truth in love than smooth things over with flattery or lies that quietly poison everything they touch.