[1] Expecting snow in summer and rain in the dry season makes more sense than honoring a fool. [2] A curse you don't deserve will take wings and fly away like a sparrow or a swallow. [3] Horses and donkeys must be beaten and bridled- and so must fools. [4] Don't make a fool of yourself by answering a fool. [5] But if you answer any fools, show how foolish they are, so they won't feel smart. [6] Sending a message by a fool is like chopping off your foot and drinking poison. [7] A fool with words of wisdom is like an athlete with legs that can't move. [8] Are you going to honor a fool? Why not shoot a slingshot with the rock tied tight? [9] A thornbush waved around in the hand of a drunkard is no worse than a proverb in the mouth of a fool. [10] It's no smarter to shoot arrows at every passerby than it is to hire a bunch of worthless nobodies. [11] Dogs return to eat their vomit, just as fools repeat their foolishness. [12] There is more hope for a fool than for someone who says, "I'm really smart!" [13] Don't be lazy and keep saying, "There's a lion outside!" [14] A door turns on its hinges, but a lazy person just turns over in bed. [15] Some of us are so lazy that we won't lift a hand to feed ourselves. [16] A lazy person says, "I am smarter than everyone else." [17] It's better to take hold of a mad dog by the ears than to take part in someone else's argument. [18] It's no crazier to shoot sharp and flaming arrows [19] than to cheat someone and say, "I was only fooling!" [20] Where there is no fuel a fire goes out; where there is no gossip arguments come to an end. [21] Troublemakers start trouble, just as sparks and fuel start a fire. [22] There is nothing so delicious as the taste of gossip! It melts in your mouth. [23] Hiding hateful thoughts behind smooth talk is like coating a clay pot with a cheap glaze. [24] The pleasant talk of an enemy hides more evil plans [25] than can be counted- so don't believe a word! [26] Everyone will see through those evil plans. [27] If you dig a pit, you will fall in; if you start a stone rolling, it will roll back on you. [28] Watch out for anyone who tells lies and flatters- they are out to get you.
