1 Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor {kavod: public recognition} is out of place for a fool {kesil: morally senseless person}.
2 Like a sparrow that keeps wandering {lanud: roams aimlessly} and a swallow that keeps flying, so a curse without cause {hinnam: without rightful basis} does not come to rest.
3 A whip is for the horse, a bridle {meteg: guidance bit} for the donkey, and a rod {shevet: symbol of discipline} for the backs of fools.
4 Do not answer {ta’an: reply} a fool according to his folly, lest you become {tishveh: made similar} like him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly {keivalto: foolish behavior}, so that he does not become wise in his own eyes {einav: self-perception}.
6 He who sends messages {devarim: communications} by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet {raglayim: mobility} and drinks violence.
7 The legs hang limp from the lame {pisseaḥ: one who limps}; so is a proverb in the mouth of fools {kesil: morally dull-witted}.
8 Like someone binding a stone in a sling {margemah: ancient weapon}, so is the one who bestows honor on a fool {khsil: one lacking insight}.
9 Like a thorn rising into the hand of a drunkard {shikor: intoxicated wanderer}, so does a proverb {mashal: instructive saying} lodge in the mouth of fools.
10 Like a master {rav: skilled master} who wounds all without distinction, so is one who hires a fool {kesil: lacking discernment} or one who hires passers-by.
11 As a dog goes back to its vomit {ke'o: regurgitated matter}, so a fool repeats {shoneh: continues returning} his folly.
12 Do you see a man wise {chakam: self-assured wisdom} in his own eyes {be-einav: subjective perspective}? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard {atsel: habitually lazy one} says, “A lion is in the way; a lion is in the open squares {rechovot: public gathering places}.”
14 As a door {delet: movable panel} turns on its hinge, so the sluggard {atzel: habitually lazy one} turns on his bed.
15 The sluggard {atsel: lazy person} buries his hand in the dish; it wearies him {nilah: becomes fatigued} to bring it back to his mouth.
16 A sluggard deems himself wise {chakam: possessing skill} in his own eyes, more than seven who deliver sound judgment {taam: discerning reason}.
17 Like one who grips {machazik: forceful hold} a dog by its ears, so is a passerby who kindles {mitabber: self-stirred fury} his own fury in a quarrel not his own.
18 Like a madman {mitlahleha: one raving wildly} who throws firebrands {ziqqim: flaming brands}, arrows, and death.
19 So is the man who deceives his neighbor {re’a: fellow companion} and says, “Was I not only playing {mesakheq: mere jest}?”
20 When there is no wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no slanderer {nirgan: rumor bearer}, contention {madon: ongoing strife} quiets down.
21 As charcoal is to burning coals and wood is to fire, so a contentious man {medonim: one prone to quarrels} stirs up strife {rîb: ongoing dispute}.
22 The words of a whisperer {nirgan: slanderer} are like choice morsels; they go down to the chambers of the belly {baten: innermost being}.
23 Like silver dross {sigim: worthless impurities} laid over a potsherd, so are burning lips and a wicked heart {lev: center of intention}.
24 A hater disguises himself {yinnaker: masks self} with his lips, but within him he sets deceit {mirmah: calculated treachery}.
25 Though he speaks graciously with his voice, do not believe him; for seven abominations {toʿevôt: particularly detestable acts} are in his heart {belibo: innermost being}.
26 Though hatred may be concealed with pretense {bemashaʾon: deliberate cover-up}, his wickedness shall be revealed in the assembly {qahal: gathered community}.
27 Whoever digs a pit{shachat: trap or grave} will fall into it; and whoever rolls a stone will have it return{tashuv: rebound on him} upon him.
28 A lying tongue hates its crushed ones {daqqaw: those it wounds}, and a smooth mouth causes downfall {midcheh: disastrous collapse}.