Proverbiorum 26
1 quomodo nix aestate et pluvia in messe sic indecens est stulto gloria
Honoring someone stupid is as inappropriate as snow in the summer or rain during harvest.
2 sicut avis ad alia transvolans et passer quolibet vadens sic maledictum frustra prolatum in quempiam superveniet
A curse that isn't deserved won't land on the person, like a fluttering sparrow or a flitting swallow.
3 flagellum equo et camus asino et virga dorso inprudentium
Horses need a whip, donkeys need a bridle, and stupid people need a rod on their backs!
4 ne respondeas stulto iuxta stultitiam suam ne efficiaris ei similis
Don't answer stupid people following their stupidity, or you'll become as bad as them.
5 responde stulto iuxta stultitiam suam ne sibi sapiens esse videatur
Answer stupid people following their stupidity, otherwise they'll think they're wise.
6 claudus pedibus et iniquitatem bibens qui mittit verba per nuntium stultum
Trusting someone stupid to deliver a message is like cutting of your feet or drinking poison.
7 quomodo pulchras frustra habet claudus tibias sic indecens est in ore stultorum parabola
A proverb spoken by someone stupid is as useless as a lame person's legs.
8 sicut qui mittit lapidem in acervum Mercurii ita qui tribuit insipienti honorem
Honoring someone stupid is as pointless as tying a stone into a sling.
9 quomodo si spina nascatur in manu temulenti sic parabola in ore stultorum
A proverb spoken by someone stupid is as ridiculous as a thorn bush waved around by a drunk.
10 iudicium determinat causas et qui inponit stulto silentium iras mitigat
Anyone who hires someone stupid or just a passer-by is like an archer wounding people by shooting arrows at random.
11 sicut canis qui revertitur ad vomitum suum sic inprudens qui iterat stultitiam suam
Stupid people repeat their stupidity like a dog returning to its vomit.
12 vidisti hominem sapientem sibi videri magis illo spem habebit stultus
Have you seen a man who is wise in his own eyes? There's more hope for stupid people than for him!
13 dicit piger leaena in via leo in itineribus
Lazy people are the ones who say, “There's a lion on the road—a lion running around the streets!”
14 sicut ostium vertitur in cardine suo ita piger in lectulo suo
A lazy person turns in bed like a door turns on its hinge.
15 abscondit piger manus sub ascellas suas et laborat si ad os suum eas converterit
Lazy people put their hands in a dish, but are too tired to lift the food to their mouths.
16 sapientior sibi piger videtur septem viris loquentibus sententias
In their own eyes lazy people are wiser than many sensible advisors.
17 sicut qui adprehendit auribus canem sic qui transit et inpatiens commiscetur rixae alterius
Interfering in someone else's quarrel is like grabbing a stray dog by the ears.
18 sicut noxius est qui mittit lanceas et sagittas et mortem
You're like a crazy person firing off blazing arrows and killing people
19 sic vir qui fraudulenter nocet amico suo et cum fuerit deprehensus dicit ludens feci
if you lie to your friend and then say, “I was only joking!”
20 cum defecerint ligna extinguetur ignis et susurrone subtracto iurgia conquiescunt
Without wood, the fire goes out; and without gossips, arguments stop.
21 sicut carbones ad prunam et ligna ad ignem sic homo iracundus suscitat rixas
An argumentative person fires up quarrels like putting charcoal on hot embers or wood on a fire.
22 verba susurronis quasi simplicia et ipsa perveniunt ad intima ventris
Listening to gossip is like gulping down bites of your favorite food—they go deep down inside you.
23 quomodo si argento sordido ornare velis vas fictile sic labia tumentia cum pessimo corde sociata
Smooth talking with evil intent is like a shiny lead glaze on an earthenware pot.
24 labiis suis intellegitur inimicus cum in corde tractaverit dolos
People say nice things to you even though they hate you; deep down they're just lying to you.
25 quando submiserit vocem suam ne credideris ei quoniam septem nequitiae sunt in corde illius
When people talk nicely to you, don't believe them—their minds are full of hate for you.
26 qui operit odium fraudulenter revelabitur malitia eius in concilio
Even though their hatred may be hidden by cunning tricks, their evil will be revealed to everyone.
27 qui fodit foveam incidet in eam et qui volvit lapidem revertetur ad eum
Those who dig pits to trap others will fall in themselves, and those who start boulders rolling will be crushed themselves.
28 lingua fallax non amat veritatem et os lubricum operatur ruinas
If you tell lies, you show you hate your victims; if you flatter people, you cause disaster.
