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Artwork for As a Dog Returns

Proverbs 26:1-28

As a Dog Returns

Lyrics · Proverbs

As a Dog Returns

Proverbs 26:1-28

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About this song

About this song

This song belongs to the Proverbs collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book
Proverbs
Collection
Proverbs
Musical styles
World Music
Honor does not fit upon a fool Any more than snow belongs in summer. Answer folly only with discernment; Do not become the thing you must uncover. As a dog returns again to its own vomit, So a fool repeats the ruin he has known. There is greater hope for one who sees his folly Than the proud who think themselves alone as wise. The sluggard sees a lion in the roadway, Turns upon the bed as doors upon a hinge. Hands sink in the dish but will not lift it; Lazy minds invent a reason not to move. Without wood, the fire is extinguished. Without gossip, quarrels lose their flame. Whispered words go down like chosen morsels, Burning hidden chambers with their blame. Fervent lips may cover evil motives, Silver glaze may hide a vessel made of clay. Hatred can disguise itself in kindness, But deceit will finally be displayed. As a dog returns again to its own vomit, Do not circle back to what destroyed your soul. Leave the fool's conceit, the sluggard's hiding; Let the truth expose and make you whole.

About the passage

Proverbs 26: The door turns, but it never gets anywhere

Proverbs 26 fills the page with fools, sluggards, meddlers, gossipers, flatterers, and people whose explanations are more impressive than their judgment. Its two famous commands about answering a fool sit side by side because each protects against a different danger: becoming like folly or allowing folly to congratulate itself. Possessing a proverb does not guarantee the wisdom to use it, just as sending a fool with a message can cripple the sender’s own purpose. The sluggard then turns like a door on hinges, accomplishing movement without travel and defending it with extraordinary confidence in his own wisdom. Quarrels become dogs grabbed by the ears and fires fed by gossip. Deception called a joke still throws real weapons. By the end, polished speech resembles silver over broken pottery, attractive enough to hide hatred until the surface finally fails.

Study Proverbs 26 in depth