People don't respect fools
1Snow should not fall in summer
and rain should not fall
during the time of harvest
and so people should not honour a fool.
2If anyone curses you
when you have done nothing wrong,
it will be like birds flying away.
They won't come and sit on you,
and nothing will happen to you.
3People use a whip to make a horse work,
a bit for a donkey and a stick for a fool.
4If a fool says something stupid,
don't answer him. If you do,
he will think you are also a fool.
5If a fool says something stupid,
show him that he is foolish.
If you don't, he will think he is wise.
6Never send a fool to take a message
to someone. If you do,
you will only hurt yourself,
and you are looking for trouble.
7A fool who tries to use a proverb
is like a crippled person
who tries to walk on his legs.
8If you try to honour a fool,
it is like trying to throw a stone
with a sling after you have
tied the stone to the sling.
9When a fool tries to use a proverb,
he is like a drunk man
with a thorn branch in his hand.
10If you hire a fool
or anyone from the street,
you are like someone with a bow_and_arrow
who shoots at anyone.
11A fool who does the same
stupid things again and again
is like a dog who comes back
to eat his own vomit.
12People who think that only they are wise
when they are not
are worse than fools.
Lazy people and people who argue
13A lazy man says: ‘There is a lion outside.
He will catch me if I go out to work.’
14Like a door that turns on its hinges,
a lazy man keeps on turning in his bed,
and he does not want to go anywhere.
15A lazy man puts his hand
deep into the bowl of food,
but he is too tired
to bring the food to his mouth.
16A lazy man thinks he has
more wisdom than 7 wise people.
17When 2 people argue
and you try to take part in their fighting,
you are grabbing an angry dog by its ears.
18-19Someone who deceives
other people and then says:
‘I was only playing and making a joke’,
is like a mad man who shoots
burning arrows that can kill people.
20If there is no wood,
the fire will stop burning and it goes out,
if no one gossips,
there will be no people who argue and fight.
21Coals and wood keep a fire burning,
and people who make trouble
keep on arguing.
22The words of a person who gossips
are like food that tastes good,
and people like to listen to them.
23If you say friendly words
but there is hate in your heart,
it is like someone who
covers a cheap clay pot with silver.
24A person who hates you
says friendly words to you,
but he is making plans to deceive you.
25He uses nice words,
but don't believe him
because he thinks
about bad things that he wants to do to you.
26He deceives you,
and he doesn't say that he hates you,
but everyone will know
that he wants to do something bad.
27A person who digs a hole
for someone to fall into
will fall into the hole himself.
The stones that he throws at other people
will come back to fall on him.
28Someone who tells lies
hates the people that he hurts.
He says beautiful things,
but he wants to destroy their lives.
