Reflections on Proverbs 26

 

Proverbs 26 (Contemporary English Version)


1. Expecting snow in summer and rain in the dry season makes more sense than honoring a fool.
   
2. A curse you don't deserve will take wings and fly away like a sparrow or a swallow.
   
3. Horses and donkeys must be beaten and bridled-- and so must fools.
   
4. Don't make a fool of yourself by answering a fool.
   
5. But if you answer any fools, show how foolish they are, so they won't feel smart.
   
6. Sending a message by a fool is like chopping off your foot and drinking poison.
   
7. A fool with words of wisdom is like an athlete with legs that can't move.
   
8. Are you going to honor a fool? Why not shoot a slingshot with the rock tied tight?
   
9. A thornbush waved around in the hand of a drunkard is no worse than a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
   
10. It's no smarter to shoot arrows at every passerby than it is to hire a bunch of worthless nobodies.
    
11. Dogs return to eat their vomit, just as fools repeat their foolishness.
    
12. There is more hope for a fool than for someone who says, "I'm really smart!"
    
13. Don't be lazy and keep saying, "There's a lion outside!"
    
14. A door turns on its hinges, but a lazy person just turns over in bed.
    
15. Some of us are so lazy that we won't lift a hand to feed ourselves.
    
16. A lazy person says, "I am smarter than everyone else."
    
17. It's better to take hold of a mad dog by the ears than to take part in someone else's argument.
    
18. It's no crazier to shoot sharp and flaming arrows
    
19. than to cheat someone and say, "I was only fooling!"
    
20. Where there is no fuel a fire goes out; where there is no gossip arguments come to an end.
    
21. Troublemakers start trouble, just as sparks and fuel start a fire.
    
22. There is nothing so delicious as the taste of gossip! It melts in your mouth.
    
23. Hiding hateful thoughts behind smooth talk is like coating a clay pot with a cheap glaze.
    
24. The pleasant talk of an enemy hides more evil plans
    
25. than can be counted-- so don't believe a word!
    
26. Everyone will see through those evil plans.
    
27. If you dig a pit, you will fall in; if you start a stone rolling, it will roll back on you.
    
28. Watch out for anyone who tells lies and flatters-- they are out to get you.
    

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Most chapters in Proverbs cover a number of topics, but this one homes in primarily on only two topics: The plight of fools and those who cause conflict. Though Solomon doesn't touch on the wicked in this chapter, in much of the book he equates fools with those who are wicked, even using the two terms interchangeably at times. Here he comes down hard on the fool but has even harder words for one other type of person, and that is the one who is wise in his own eyes. He says such a person is worse off than the fool. Such a person may not have the characteristics of a fool, but he is worse off because he thinks he doesn't need anyone else. He has all the wisdom he needs. Back to the fool, though. Don't answer the fool according to his foolishness because you will be encouraging him and will cause him to also believe he is wise in his own eyes. Besides making the fool worse off, it brings you down to his level. It is not a good idea to encourage a fool.

There seems to be little help for the fool for he sees no need for wisdom or understanding. In fact, Solomon says a proverb in the mouth of a fool is useless. They are like legs that are lame and hang limp and useless. This is what a fool does with wisdom, so how can you help him? It would seem about the only help one can give him is a rod on his back. This he understands. Solomon likens the rod on the back of a fool to a bridle for a donkey. It harnesses his stubbornness and makes him useful. But as as a donkey without the harness will return to his stubbornness, the fool without the rod will return to his foolishness. Or as Solomon puts it, a fool repeats his foolishness as a dog returns to his vomit. And a final word about the fool - don't hire him. It will cause you trouble. It is like having an archer who wounds everyone indiscriminately - his own troops along with the enemy troops. Hiring the fool will wreck havoc for you.

Next is the one who causes conflict.  Various types of people stir up conflict. There are those who are gossips, those who are quarrelsome, and those who are deceitful or are liars. It is possible one individual may be all of those things, but any one of them will cause conflict. Those who do these things are hateful individuals. As Solomon says of those who are liars. He says they hate those they crush with lies. To label this conduct is much easier than it is to identify those who do it. This is because they are deceitful about it. Solomon says those who are hateful disguise themselves with gracious speech, but they harbor abomination in their hearts. He advises us not to believe such people. We can know them because their speech seems a bit too gracious. It is not natural and is incongruent with who they are. Be cautious with such people and don't be taken in. In time they will be exposed for who they are and it will be done publicly, in the assembly.

Two words to the wise, or proverbs concerning conflict. First, don't meddle in a quarrel that is not yours. It is like grabbing a dog by the ears. You will get bitten. Second, remove the gossip and a conflict will die down. It may or may not have been the gossip who started the conflict, but they will surely keep it alive. Remove them and the conflict will die down.