Poetry

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1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool.

Snow in the summer is not cool,
And rain in harvest is almost cruel,
And honor is never fitting for a fool.
Strange things do happen with seasons and weather,
But honor and the fool will never fit right together.

2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

Somethings are almost impossible to learn
About certain birds as they dart and they turn,
And you wonder, do they ever land in their nest.
So it is true also of the undeserved curse,
For we are enlightened about it in this verse,
God will not allow it to on anyone come to rest.

3 A whip for the horse, a halter for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools!

Horses and donkeys need guidance by force,
And so it is true also of the fool, of course.
Animals need tools to give them correction,
And a rod helps the fool to go the right direction.


4 and 5 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself.

Don't answer a fool in his foolish way,
Or you will be just like him at the end of the day.
But sometimes you have to be stupid like him,
So he can recognize how low his brain has gone dim.
When he sees his folly in you he will realize
He has no reason left to be wise in his own eyes.

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.

It is so far from cool when you act like a fool,
And that's what you do when you trust in this man.
It's like you learned nothing when you went to school,
When you send off a message in this fools hand.

7 Like a lame man's legs that hang limp
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

The legs of a lame man hang limp
But he is handicapped and not a chimp,
But put a proverb in the mouth of a fool and you'll see,
what a chimp such a fool can be.

8 Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.

If you tie the stone in the sling,
You are going to feel the sting,
And if you give honor to a fool,
It will hurt like the kick of a mule.

9 Like a thornbush in a drunkard's hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

A thorn bush in a drunkard's hand
Will scare people off to beat the band,
And so with a proverb in the mouth of a fool,
People will flee as they would from a cesspool.

10 Like an archer who wounds at random
is he who hires a fool or any passer-by.

An archer who never bothers to take aim,
Is not very wise in the ways of the game,
And so is the man who hires any stranger or fool,
Without checking for their experience or school.

11 As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly.

It can make your stomach turn
To see a dog to his vomit return,
And it can turn your head round and round
When this same foolishness in a fool is found,
For when he does a very stupid thing,
The next time to the same act he'll spring.

12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

The man who is wise in his own eyes
Is in for what will be a surprise,
For he will end up with far less hope
Than the foolish man he calls a dope.

13 The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!"

The lazy man always has and excuse
For why he is seldom of any good use.
He dare not go out where fierce lions roam,
And so he just settles to stay right at home.

14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.

A door on its hinges can't move far away,
It pretty much locked in there to stay,
And so the lazy man turns on his bed,
And only works as much as the door on his shed.

15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

The lazy man buries his hand in the dish;
Hoping someone will feed him is his wish.
He is too lazy to even feed himself,
And lives a life like a bump on the shelf.

16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who answer discreetly.

This lazy man is truly blind as a bat,
For he truly believes he is right where he's at.
He is so convinced he is right in his eyes,
Than the seven wiser men who see otherwise.

17 Like one who seizes a dog by the ears
is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

He is not too bright who will risk a bite
By grabbing a strange dog by the ears.
But less brighter yet is the man who will fight
In a battle he just walks by and hears.

18 Like a madman shooting
firebrands or deadly arrows
19 is a man who deceives his neighbor
and says, "I was only joking!"

Like a madman on the loose shooting a gun,
Is the fool who thinks creating danger is fun,
For he falls to the floor and pretends he is choking,
Has all in a panic, then says, I was only joking!”

20 Without wood a fire goes out;
without gossip a quarrel dies down.

One thing we know without a doubt
Without wood the fire goes out.
If only we could see it is also true
That without gossip a quarrel dies too.

21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

Charcoal and wood are the fuel to kindle a fire,
And this need for fuel works on a plane that is higher,
For every flame needs a source of fuel to continue its life,
And the quarrelsome man is that fuel for kindling strife.

22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to a man's inmost parts.

The words of a gossip don't seem so suspicious
For they strike us as being super delicious.
We chew them and swallow them to our most inner parts
And never give a thought to how they damage our hearts.

23 Like a coating of glaze [a] over earthenware
are fervent lips with an evil heart.

The cover up skill is a work of art,
For it can even cover an evil heart.
It can put a shiny glaze over a dull plate,
And make it glisten as if in new state.
So clever speech can cover a heart full of hate.


24 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,
but in his heart he harbors deceit.

A malicious man can behind clever words hide
And you will never even suspect that he's lied.
In his heart he may harbor all kinds of deceit,
But you would never guess he's a liar and cheat.

25 Though his speech is charming, do not believe him,
for seven abominations fill his heart.

Do not let speech that is so often charming
Deceive you in thinking there is nothing alarming.
Do not believe just by the words, for that's a small part.
What you really need to see is what fills his heart.

26 His malice may be concealed by deception,
but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

The con man has his deception cleverly concealed,
But before all the witnesses his evil will be revealed.
He may fool some but he cannot fool all,
Exposed to the whole assembly his deception will fall.

27 If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it;
if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.

If a man digs a pit,
He will fall into it.
If a man rolls a stone,
It will roll back on his bone.
The whole point of it is,
A man will get as he gives.
As the old saying goes,
Man will reap just as he sows.

28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.

Behind the lying tongue is hate,
With design to hurt and deflate,
Do don't in its cause participate.
Flattering words may sound so nice,
But they are designed to you entice
To follow to ruin the ways of vice.

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