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Proverbs 26

Proverbs 26 exposes how conceit sustains folly and how careless or deceptive speech spreads harm through a community.

A series of proverbs warns readers about fools, lazy people, and those whose speech causes harm. No single conversation or event frames these sayings. Vivid comparisons expose the danger of giving fools honor or responsibility, while two adjacent commands weigh the risks of answering them. The focus then shifts to excuses for avoiding work and to quarrels fed by gossip. The closing sayings expose the gap between charming words and a malicious heart.

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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.
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.
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.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Proverbs 26:12After repeated warnings about fools, this verse identifies self-assured conceit as an even greater barrier to wisdom.
Proverbs 26:24This verse names the concealment beneath malicious speech, sharpening the closing warnings about charm, deception, and ruin.
Proverbs 26:11The dog's return to its vomit makes repeated folly repulsive, exposing the danger of returning to the same destructive conduct.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm shares the chapter’s warnings about flattering lips, concealed malice, and people falling into traps they set for others. Matthew shares its concern with the heart behind speech, while Romans echoes its warning against being wise in one’s own eyes.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What distinguishes an answer that challenges folly from an answer that joins in it?

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Where have you seen gossip act like fuel, and what might let that quarrel die down?

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Questions people ask about Proverbs 26

Do Proverbs 26:4 and 26:5 contradict each other?

The two sayings place competing dangers side by side. Answering a fool on his terms can draw the responder into folly; leaving him unanswered can confirm his conceit. Their placement calls for judgment about the person and situation. Neither verse supplies a rule to follow without regard to circumstances.

What does Proverbs 26 mean by a fool?

The fool is portrayed through conduct: repeating folly, mishandling wise sayings, and proving unfit for trust or honor. The chapter treats foolishness as a moral and practical problem. Verse 12 sharpens the warning by saying that someone wise in his own eyes has even less hope than a fool.

What does Proverbs 26:2 mean about an undeserved curse?

The verse compares an undeserved curse to birds that flutter or dart without settling. Its point is that a curse without cause has no rightful hold on its target. This is a wisdom saying about the curse’s lack of force; it does not claim that false accusations never cause suffering.

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Proverbs · 31 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).