Proverbs 26
Proverbs on fools, sluggards, and gossip. As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. The sluggard turns on his bed like a door on its hinges. Gossip is like choice morsels that go down to the body's inmost parts.
ProverbsChapter 26 of 3128 versesBerean Standard Bible
If God speaks to you through Proverbs 26, record what He said in Doxa and come back to it.
Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor does not befit a fool.
Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.
Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.
Like lame legs hanging limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
Like binding a stone into a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.
Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or passerby.
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
A dog returns to its vomit — false teachers returning to sin
“Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.””
Read 2 Peter 2:22›Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”
As a door turns on its hinges, so the slacker turns on his bed.
The slacker buries his hand in the dish; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.
The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.
Like one who grabs a dog by the ears is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
Like a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows,
so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.
A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.
Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.
A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
Read next
How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.Cross-references for Proverbs 26
“How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?”
“Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.””
“There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:”
“He who leads the upright along the path of evil will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.”
“The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.”
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, licensed CC BY.
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If God speaks to you through Proverbs 26
Doxa is where you record what God has said to you, in the words it came in, weigh it against Scripture with people you trust, and come back to it in the years that follow.
