Today’s proverb is not kind to the foolish and lazy! But the verses that stand out to me are the ones regarding gossip in vv. 20, 22. Want to diffuse a quarrel? Get rid of gossip. Heresay – especially negative hearsay – begins and fuels many arguments. There is just something about gossip that has an irresistible quality to it. Gossip isn’t just something we “allow” into our lives; let’s face it, gossip is something we “take” into our lives. It is so often sought after. But it is a terrible thing, never good, always putting someone down in order to raise us up. If we participate in gossip, this proverb tells us that it will work down deep and poison our hearts and minds. So let’s remember to avoid gossip at all costs because when we do, we are protecting ourselves and our relationships from a deadly poison.
Proverbs 26
1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
3 A whip for the horse, a halter for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools!
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.
6 Like cutting off one’s feet or drinking violence
is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.
7 Like a lame man’s legs that hang limp
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
8 Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.
9 Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
10 Like an archer who wounds at random
is he who hires a fool or any passer-by.
11 As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who answer discreetly.
17 Like one who seizes a dog by the ears
is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
18 Like a madman shooting
firebrands or deadly arrows
19 is a man who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I was only joking!”
20 Without wood a fire goes out;
without gossip a quarrel dies down.
21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to a man’s inmost parts.
23 Like a coating of glaze over earthenware
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
24 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,
but in his heart he harbors deceit.
25 Though his speech is charming, do not believe him,
for seven abominations fill his heart.
26 His malice may be concealed by deception,
but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27 If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it;
if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.