THE WORD Proverbs 26:1–28 (The Living Bible) Honor doesn’t go with fools any more than snow with summertime or rain with harvesttime! 2An undeserved curse has no effect. Its intended victim will be no more harmed by it than by a sparrow or swallow flitting through the sky. 3Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle, and a rebel with a rod to his back! 4-5When arguing with a rebel, don’t use foolish arguments as he does, or you will become as foolish as he is! Prick his conceit with silly replies! 6To trust a rebel to convey a message is as foolish as cutting off your feet and drinking poison! 7In the mouth of a fool a proverb becomes as useless as a paralyzed leg. 8Honoring a rebel will backfire like a stone tied to a slingshot! 9A rebel will misapply an illustration so that its point will no more be felt than a thorn in the hand of a drunkard. 10The master may get better work from an untrained apprentice than from a skilled rebel! 11As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. 12There is one thing worse than a fool, and that is a man who is conceited. 13The lazy man won’t go out and work. “There might be a lion outside!” he says. 14He sticks to his bed like a door to its hinges! 15He is too tired even to lift his food from his dish to his mouth! 16Yet in his own opinion he is smarter than seven wise men. 17Yanking a dog’s ears is no more foolish than interfering in an argument that isn’t any of your business. 18-19A man who is caught lying to his neighbor and says, “I was just fooling,” is like a madman throwing around firebrands, arrows, and death! 20Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and tensions disappear when gossip stops. 21A quarrelsome man starts fights as easily as a match sets fire to paper. 22Gossip is a dainty morsel eaten with great relish. 23Pretty words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a common clay pot. 24-26A man with hate in his heart may sound pleasant enough, but don’t believe him; for he is cursing you in his heart. Though he pretends to be so kind, his hatred will finally come to light for all to see. 27The man who sets a trap for others will get caught in it himself. Roll a boulder down on someone, and it will roll back and crush you. 28Flattery is a form of hatred and wounds cruelly. GENTLENESS
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 21:12:56 +0000