Proverbs

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a [straight, slender] rod for the backs of [self-confident] fools. ⁴Answer not a [self-confident] fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. ⁵Answer a [self-confident] fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes and conceit. [Matt. 16:1-4; 21:24-27.] ⁶He who sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off the feet [of satisfactory delivery] and drinks the damage. [Prov. 13:17.] ⁷Like the legs of a lame man which hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of a fool. ⁸Like he who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a [self-confident] fool. ⁹Like a thorn that goes [without being felt] into the hand of a drunken man, so is a proverb in the mouth of a [self-confident] fool.