9Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand

is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

10Like an archer who wounds at random

is he who hires a fool or any passer-by.

11As a dog returns to its vomit,

so a fool repeats his folly.

12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

13The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road,

a fierce lion roaming the streets!”

14As a door turns on its hinges,

so a sluggard turns on his bed.

15The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

16The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes

than seven men who answer discreetly.

17Like one who seizes a dog by the ears

is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

18Like a madman shooting

firebrands or deadly arrows

19is a man who deceives his neighbor

and says, “I was only joking!”

20Without wood a fire goes out;

without gossip a quarrel dies down.

21As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,

so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

22The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;

they go down to a man’s inmost parts.

23Like a coating of glaze^a over earthenware

are fervent lips with an evil heart.

24A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,

but in his heart he harbors deceit.

25Though his speech is charming, do not believe him,

for seven abominations fill his heart.

26His malice may be concealed by deception,

but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

27If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it;

if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.

28A lying tongue hates those it hurts,

and a flattering mouth works ruin.