Proverbs · chapter 26 of 31
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Proverbs 26 draws three portraits with vivid images: the fool, for whom honor is out of place and who repeats his folly as a dog returns to its vomit; the sluggard, who turns on his bed like a door on its hinges; and the gossip and the hypocrite, whose words stir up strife and cover hatred. The chapter warns that whoever digs a pit will fall into it.
Proverbs 26 belongs to the collection copied by the men of Hezekiah (chapters 25 to 29). While chapter 25 used images from nature to speak of wisdom, chapter 26 describes with irony and humor three kinds of people: the fool, the sluggard and the gossip, and it closes with the masks of hatred.
The chapter begins with an image: honor is not fitting for a fool, as snow in summer or rain in harvest are not (v. 1). A curse without cause does not alight, like a sparrow in its flitting or a swallow in its flying (v. 2). A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey and a rod for the back of fools (v. 3). Verses 4 and 5 give two seemingly opposite counsels: do not answer a fool according to his folly, and answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. Sending a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off your own feet and drinking violence (v. 6). Giving honor to a fool is like binding a stone in the sling (v. 8). As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly (v. 11). There is more hope for a fool than for a person wise in his own eyes (v. 12).
Verses 13 to 16 portray the sluggard: he says there is a lion in the road, a lion in the streets (v. 13); as a door turns on its hinges, so he turns on his bed (v. 14); he buries his hand in the dish and is too tired to bring it to his mouth (v. 15); and he is wiser in his own eyes than seven who answer sensibly (v. 16). Meddling in a quarrel not your own is like grabbing a dog by the ears (v. 17). The one who deceives his neighbor and then says he was only joking is like a madman shooting deadly arrows (vv. 18-19).
For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases (v. 20). The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels that go down into the inner parts (v. 22). Fervent lips with an evil heart are like silver dross covering a clay pot (v. 23). The one who hates disguises it with his lips but harbors deceit inside; do not trust him when he speaks graciously (vv. 24-25). Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling (v. 27). And a lying tongue hates those it crushes (v. 28).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Two verses in a row seem to contradict each other: do not answer a fool according to his folly, and answer him according to his folly. Wisdom lies in discerning when to be silent so as not to lower yourself and when to speak so the fool does not think himself wise.
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. The unpleasant image shows that whoever does not learn from his mistakes repeats them, and that correction does not change someone who will not listen.
For lack of wood the fire goes out, and without a whisperer quarreling ceases. Someone who does not repeat rumors helps conflicts calm down, and someone who passes them along feeds the fire.
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on the one who rolls it. The proverb says the evil planned against others often falls back on the one who prepares it, and that God governs justice.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Snow in summer and rain in harvest. — Proverbs 26:1
Answer: A dog that returns to its vomit. — Proverbs 26:11
Answer: He says there is a lion in the road. — Proverbs 26:13
Answer: A door turning on its hinges. — Proverbs 26:14
Answer: Without wood the fire goes out, and without a whisperer quarreling ceases. — Proverbs 26:20
Answer: He will fall into it. — Proverbs 26:27
Proverbs 26 can be read with a smile, but it is serious. In a small group you can ask which of the three portraits makes us most uncomfortable and why. Sometimes our excuses sound like the sluggard's, or our comments about others sound like the gossip's.
There is a practical task: cut off gossip. When someone brings us a rumor, we can ask whether they have spoken to the person involved. And when we face folly, the chapter teaches us to ask for wisdom to know when to answer and when to stay silent.
Proverbs 26 shows with humor and clarity what folly, laziness and gossip look like. Chapter 27 changes tone, with sayings about tomorrow, the friend who corrects, iron sharpening iron and the care of flocks.
They are two counsels for two different situations. The first warns that answering with the same folly lowers us to the fool's level; the second, that sometimes we must answer so he does not think himself wise. The book places them together on purpose to teach that wisdom needs discernment and not mechanical rules.
It is an image of something useless and absurd: a stone tied to the sling cannot be thrown. So it is when honor is given to a fool, who does not know how to use it and wastes it. Translators discuss some details of the image, but the general sense is clear.