Proverbs · 28 verses
Proverbs 26
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
The slacker has a lion patrolling both the road and the public square, yet his grand emergency ends with him turning on his bed. The lion is given a territory; the slacker, a hinge.
Fools, and the peril of replyingvv. 1–12
Honor sits on a fool as snow sits in summer: conspicuously, and with no prospect of staying. A curse without cause flutters off like a sparrow, while the fool receives the more practical attentions of whip, bridle, and rod. Then comes the delightful pair of instructions: one must not answer a fool according to his folly, lest folly become contagious; one must answer him according to it, lest he become convinced of his own wisdom. The passage leaves the two commands standing side by side, like matching doors that open in opposite directions. Messages sent by fools, proverbs spoken by fools, and honor given to fools all receive images of alarming physical consequence. The fool, meanwhile, returns to folly with the reliability of a dog returning to its vomit—and the self-satisfied man is declared worse still.
The lion in the roadvv. 13–16
The slacker announces, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!” It is an impressively specific hazard, especially since the next comparison is not an escape but a door turning on its hinges. His hand can reach the dish; the journey from dish to mouth is where energy finally gives out. Seven discreet men may answer him, and still he remains wiser in his own eyes. The lion, at least, has the decency to stay off the bed.
Quarrels, kindling, and polished lipsvv. 17–28
A passerby who seizes a quarrel not his own grabs a dog by the ears, which is a memorable way to describe unnecessary involvement. The man who deceives his neighbour and calls it a joke is likened to a madman firing deadly projectiles, so the joke has rather missed its harmlessness. Gossip feeds conflict as wood feeds fire, and its words go down like choice morsels. Burning lips may be a glaze over an earthen vessel: smooth on the outside, with a wicked heart beneath. Hatred may disguise itself in gracious speech, but the assembly eventually gets to see what was under the covering. Pits, rolling stones, lying tongues, and flattering mouths complete the household inventory of things that return to their makers or ruin their neighbours.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Prov 26:1Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor does not befit a fool.
Prov 26:2Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
Prov 26:3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
Prov 26:4Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.
Prov 26:5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.
Prov 26:6Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.
Prov 26:7Like lame legs hanging limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
Prov 26:8Like binding a stone into a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.
Prov 26:9Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
Prov 26:10Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or passerby.
Prov 26:11As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
Prov 26:12Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Prov 26:13The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”
Prov 26:14As a door turns on its hinges, so the slacker turns on his bed.
Prov 26:15The slacker buries his hand in the dish; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.
Prov 26:16The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.
Prov 26:17Like one who grabs a dog by the ears is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
Prov 26:18Like a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows,
Prov 26:19so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
Prov 26:20Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
Prov 26:21Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
Prov 26:22The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
Prov 26:23Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.
Prov 26:24A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
Prov 26:25When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.
Prov 26:26Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
Prov 26:27He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.
Prov 26:28A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 179 passages were voted onto 28 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 2Numbers 23:8How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?
- 25Proverbs 6:16–19There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:
- 112 Peter 2:22Of 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.”
- 27Proverbs 28:10He who leads the upright along the path of evil will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.
- 27Psalms 9:15The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
- 27Psalms 7:15–16He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
- 11Matthew 12:45Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”
- 27Psalms 10:2In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.
- 2Nehemiah 13:2because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing).
- 27Ecclesiastes 10:8He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.
- 27Psalms 57:6They spread a net for my feet; my soul was despondent. They dug a pit before me, but they themselves have fallen into it! Selah
- 2Psalms 109:28Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.
- 2Deuteronomy 23:4–5For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
- 22 Samuel 16:12Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction and repay me with good for the cursing I receive today.”
- 12Proverbs 29:20Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- 121 Corinthians 3:18–19Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
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