Old Testament

Proverbs 26

Folly, Sloth, and Deceit

7 passages

Overview

Through a cascade of sharp similes and probing moral portraits, the sage exposes the manifold faces of disorder: the cosmic absurdity of misplaced honor, the spiritual paralysis of the sluggard, the situational demands of engaging folly, the supreme danger of self-conceit, the real wounds inflicted by meddling and deceptive jest, the invisible corrosion of gossip, and the self-defeating ruin that awaits the hypocrite whose smooth lips conceal a malicious heart.

Passages

1–3Honor, Curse, and Discipline: What Belongs Where 4–11The Fool and His Folly: A Portrait in Proverbs (Part 1)12More Hope for a Fool Than for the Self-Wise 13–16The Sluggard: Paralysis, Excuses, and Self-Delusion 17–19The Meddler and the Deceiver: Dangerous Games 20–22Gossip and Strife: The Fuel That Feeds the Fire 23–28The Malicious Heart Behind Smooth Lips: Hypocrisy and Its Reckoning

Study Resources

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Proverbs 26

¹Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.

³A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools!

⁴Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

⁶One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.

⁷Like the legs of the lame that hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

⁸As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by.

¹¹As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.

¹²Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!”

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

¹⁵The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.

¹⁷Like one who grabs a dog’s ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.

¹⁸Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,

¹⁹is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?”

²⁰For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.

²¹As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife.

²²The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts.

²³Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.

²⁴A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors evil in his heart.

²⁵When his speech is charming, don’t believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.

²⁶His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.

Proverbs 25 Proverbs 27