Immerse: Poets Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 252
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IMMERSE
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POETS
Good news from far away
is like cold water to the thirsty.
If the godly give in to the wicked,
it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.
It’s not good to eat too much honey,
and it’s not good to seek honors for yourself.
A person without self-control
is like a city with broken-down walls.
Honor is no more associated with fools
than snow with summer or rain with harvest.
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.
Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle,
and a fool with a rod to his back!
Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools,
or you will become as foolish as they are.
Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools,
or they will become wise in their own estimation.
Trusting a fool to convey a message
is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison!
A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is as useless as a paralyzed leg.
Honoring a fool
is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.
A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.
An employer who hires a fool or a bystander
is like an archer who shoots at random.
As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his foolishness.
There is more hope for fools
than for people who think they are wise.
The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road!
Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”
25:25–26:13
