Single lesson
Proverbs 26: Similitudes and Instructions
Proverbs 26:1–28
Proverbs 26 uses vivid comparisons to teach wise speech, careful choices and honest relationships. In this lesson, children hear several short sayings, sort what they warn against, and practise choosing one clear wisdom reminder to remember.
Before you teach
This chapter is a collection of sayings about fools, the sluggard, quarrels, gossip, deceit and lying. The verses move through short comparisons and warnings, showing how harmful words and stubborn behaviour can damage people, while careful judgement helps us respond wisely. [Proverbs 26:1, Proverbs 26:4, Proverbs 26:13, Proverbs 26:17, Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:24, Proverbs 26:28]
Students will be able to name at least two warnings from Proverbs 26 and explain one practical way to use wise words instead of harmful ones.
Welcome: Wise words and warning pictures
4 minShow that Proverbs 26 teaches with strong word pictures. Ask children to listen for comparisons such as snow in summer, a door on hinges, a fire without wood and a pit that traps the digger. Explain that these pictures help us remember what is fitting, foolish or harmful. [Proverbs 26:1, Proverbs 26:14, Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:27]
Proverbs 26:1, Proverbs 26:14, Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:27
Read and explain: Fools and the sluggard
7 minRead selected verses aloud. Explain that honour does not fit a fool, and repeating folly is compared to a dog returning to vomit. Then notice the sluggard, who makes excuses about a lion, stays in bed like a door on hinges, and will not finish simple effort. Pride also appears when someone is wise in his own eyes. [Proverbs 26:1, Proverbs 26:11, Proverbs 26:12, Proverbs 26:13, Proverbs 26:14, Proverbs 26:15, Proverbs 26:16]
Proverbs 26:1, Proverbs 26:11, Proverbs 26:12, Proverbs 26:13, Proverbs 26:14, Proverbs 26:15, Proverbs 26:16
Discuss: Words that spread harm or stop it
7 minFocus on speech. A person should be careful when responding to foolish talk, because one verse warns against becoming like a fool, while another warns against letting a fool seem wise. Then move to quarrels, gossip, joking that deceives, and charming speech that hides malice. Ask what these sayings show about using words responsibly. [Proverbs 26:4, Proverbs 26:5, Proverbs 26:19, Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:22, Proverbs 26:24, Proverbs 26:25]
Proverbs 26:4, Proverbs 26:5, Proverbs 26:19, Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:22, Proverbs 26:24, Proverbs 26:25
Make and respond: Wisdom reminder card
8 minChildren choose one verse or image from the passage and make a small reminder card. They may draw a fire going out without wood, a door on hinges, or a pit that traps the digger. Under the picture, they write a short lesson such as ‘Don’t feed quarrels’ or ‘Finish what you start’, based on the chosen verse. [Proverbs 26:14, Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:27, Proverbs 26:28]
Proverbs 26:14, Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:27, Proverbs 26:28
Closing: One wise choice this week
4 minReview the main warnings in the chapter: repeating folly, laziness, meddling in quarrels, gossip, deceit and flattery. Invite each child to say one wise choice they can make this week, such as refusing to spread a quarrel or speaking truthfully. Finish by reading the final warning about lying and flattery. [Proverbs 26:11, Proverbs 26:17, Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:24, Proverbs 26:28]
Proverbs 26:11, Proverbs 26:17, Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:24, Proverbs 26:28
Questions to explore
Why do Proverbs 26:4 and Proverbs 26:5 sound different, and what do both verses teach us to do?
Guide children to notice that both verses are about answering a fool carefully, so the response should depend on whether joining the folly would make us like the fool or whether silence would let the fool seem wise. [Proverbs 26:4, Proverbs 26:5]
Proverbs 26:4, Proverbs 26:5
What do the pictures of the sluggard show about laziness?
Point to the excuses about a lion, the door turning on hinges, and the hand left in the dish to show that laziness can include delay, excuses and refusing to finish simple work. [Proverbs 26:13, Proverbs 26:14, Proverbs 26:15]
Proverbs 26:13, Proverbs 26:14, Proverbs 26:15
How does the chapter describe the way quarrels keep going?
Use the picture of wood feeding a fire and the whisperer’s words going deep inside to show that gossip and contentious behaviour keep trouble alive instead of letting it die down. [Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:21, Proverbs 26:22]
Proverbs 26:20, Proverbs 26:21, Proverbs 26:22
Make, think or respond
Proverbs Picture Reminder Card
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or crayons
- markers
- scissors
Try it together
- Ask each child to choose one proverb image from the passage.
- Fold or cut paper into a small card size.
- On one side, draw the picture from the proverb, such as a fire, a door on hinges, or a rolling stone.
- On the other side, write a short reminder sentence based on the verse.
- Let children share how their card connects to wise speech or behaviour in the chapter.
The card helps children remember that Proverbs 26 teaches through memorable pictures about speech, effort, quarrels and honesty.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, offer three pre-read verse choices and let them copy a short phrase instead of writing a full sentence.
- For older or more confident children, ask them to compare two images from the chapter and explain how both support the same wisdom theme.
An optional closing prayer
You may pray: ‘God, please help us use honest words, avoid foolish quarrels, and listen to your wisdom in what we say and do. Amen.’
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Proverbs 26
1 Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.
3 A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools!
4 Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6 One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.
7 Like the legs of the lame that hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
8 As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.
9 Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
10 As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by.
11 As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!”
14 As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.
17 Like one who grabs a dog’s ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.
18 Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?”
20 For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
21 As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife.
22 The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts.
23 Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.
24 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors evil in his heart.
25 When his speech is charming, don’t believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.
26 His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.
28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.