A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools!
Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.
Like the legs of the lame that hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.
Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by.
As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 Consent not unto him in his doings.
Consent not unto him in his doings.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–12 Pro 26:3 A whip for the horse, a bridle…
Pro 26:3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.
Ver. 3. A whip for the horse,] viz., To quicken his slow pace. "A bridle for the ass," wherewith to lead him in the right way; for he goes willingly but a foot pace, and would be oft out, but for the bit; and besides, he is very refractory, and must be "held in with bit and bridle." {Psa 32:9}
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And a rod for the back of fools.] Tυφθεις δε τε νηπιος εγνω. A fool will be the better for beating. Vexatio dat intellectum. Due punishment may well be to these horses and asses - so the Scripture terms unreasonable and wicked men - both for a whip to incite them to good, and for a bridle to rein them in from evil. God hath rods sticking in every corner of his house for these froward fools; and if a rod serve not turn, he hath a "terrible sword." {Isa 27:1} So must magistrates. Cuncta prius tentanda. If a rod will do, they need not brandish the sword of justice; nor do as Draco did, who punished with death every light offence. This was to kill a fly upon a man’s forehead with a beetle, to the knocking out of his brains.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–12 A bridle was very proper and usual for an…
A bridle was very proper and usual for an ass, when they rode upon it, (as the Jews most commonly did,) though not to restrain him from running away, which is the principal use of it in horses, yet that the rider might rule and guide him, which was very necessary for that stupid creature. Although the ancient interpreters render it a goad, or spur, or something of the like nature and use.
A rod for the fool’s back; which is most proper and necessary for him. Not words, but blows, must make him better.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 12 Here, 1. Wicked men are compared to the horse…
Here, 1. Wicked men are compared to the horse and the ass, so brutish are they, so unreasonable, so unruly, and not to be governed but by force or fear, so low has sin sunk men, so much below themselves. Man indeed is born like the wild ass's colt, but as some by the grace of God are changed, and become rational, so others by custom in sin are hardened, and become more and more sottish, as the horse and the mule, Psa 32:9. 2. Direction is given to use them accordingly. Princes, instead of giving honour to a fool (Pro 26:1), must put disgrace upon him - instead of putting power into his hand, must exercise power over him. A horse unbroken needs a whip for correction, and an ass a bridle for direction and to check him when he would turn out of the way; so a vicious man, who will not be under the guidance and restraint of religion and reason, ought to be whipped and bridled, to be rebuked severely, and made to smart for what he has done amiss, and to be restrained from offending any more.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–12 A whip for the horse,.... One that is dull…
A whip for the horse,.... One that is dull of going, or refractory and wants breaking;
a bridle for the ass; not to curb and restrain it from going too fist, asses being generally dull; but to direct its way and turn it when necessary, it being stiffnecked and obstinate; though the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it a "spear" or "goad", something to prick with, and excite it to motion; and so the Targum; or otherwise one would have thought the whip was fitter for the ass and the bridle for the horse;
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and a rod for the fool's back; suggesting that the fool, or wicked man, is like the horse or the mule; though not without understanding of things natural, yet of things divine and moral; and as stupid as the ass, however wise he may conceit himself to be, being born like a wild ass's colt; and instead of honour being given him, stripes should be laid upon him; he should be reproved sharply, and corrected for his wickedness, especially the causeless curser, Pro 19:29.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv4–10 According - So as to imitate his folly, by…
According - So as to imitate his folly, by passionate or reproachful speeches.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 Verse 3. A whip for the horse] Correction is…
Verse 3. A whip for the horse] Correction is as suitable to a fool, as a whip is for a horse, or a bridle for an ass.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Pro 26:4-5. Answer not a fool, &c. — Answer…
Pro 26:4-5. Answer not a fool, &c. — Answer a fool, &c. — These contrary directions are easily reconciled, by considering the difference of persons, times, places, and other circumstances, and of the manner of answering. And such seemingly contradictory precepts are not only used by, but are esteemed elegant in other authors. Answer him not, when he is incorrigible, or when he is inflamed with wine, or with passion, &c., or when it is not necessary nor likely to do him good. Answer him, when he is capable of receiving good by it, or when it is necessary for the glory of God, for the discharge of a man’s duty, or for the good of others. Answer not, &c., according to his folly — So as to imitate his folly, in such passionate, or reproachful, or foolish speeches as he uses to thee; lest thou be like unto him — Show thyself to be as great a fool as he is. Answer a fool according to his folly — So as his folly needs and requires, convincing him strongly, reproving him sharply, and exposing him to just shame; lest he be wise in his own conceit — Lest thy silence make him arrogant and presumptuous, as if his words were unanswerable.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Two sides of a truth. To “answer a fool…
Two sides of a truth. To “answer a fool according to his folly” is in Pro 26:4 to bandy words with him, to descend to his level of coarse anger and vile abuse; in Pro 26:5 it is to say the right word at the right time, to expose his unwisdom and untruth to others and to himself, not by a teaching beyond his reach, but by words that he is just able to apprehend. The apparent contradiction between the two verses led some of the rabbis to question the canonical authority of this book. The Pythagoreans had maxims expressing a truth in precepts seemingly contradictory.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 12 This proverb inverts our ideas. We should have given…
This proverb inverts our ideas. We should have given the bridle for the horse, and the whip for the ass.†1 But the Eastern asses are a very superior race, both in beauty and spirit, a valuable property to their owners.†2 The bridle is necessary to curb and to guide them; while the horse, perhaps badly broken in, may need a whip; if dull, to accelerate his speed; if fiery, to correct his temper.†3 Every creature subdued for the service of man needs his appropriate discipline. The Lord "guides his children with his eye." But let them cultivate a pliable spirit; "not as the horse and the mule, whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle." (Psa 32:8-9 .) The fool neither hears the voice, nor sees the directing eye. He will be ruled neither by reason nor persuasion. A rod therefore is for the fool’s back.†4 Pharaoh provoked this severe chastisement at the hands of God;†5 the men of Succoth and Penuel at Gideon’s hands.†6 Many such fools are in the Church, self-willed, full of conceit. They need the rod, and they have it.†7 Discipline is the most probing test. What is its fruit? In the child submission and tenderness;†8 in the fool (except it beat out his folly,†9 which is too often a desperate case†10) hardness and rebellion.†11 Sad indeed is it, that the child sometimes needs the rod intended for the fool’s back. Yet never does his loving Father use it, till gentle means have been tried in vain. Oh my God! use thine own wise means, to save me from my own waywardness, folly, and ruin.
Footnotes:
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†1 Michaelis was so positive on this point, that he altered his version accordingly, contrary to the authority of all versions and MSS.
†2 Jdg 10:34; Jdg 12:13-14 . 2Sa 17:23 ; 2Sa 19:26 .
†3 Paxton’s Natural History of Scripture, p. 221, and Parkhurst.
†4 Pro 10:13; Pro 19:29 .
†5 Exo 10:3.
†6 Jdg 8:5-7, Jdg 8:16 .
†7 2Co 10:6-11 ; 2Co 13:2 .
†8 Jer 31:18-20.
†9 2Ch 33:11-13 .
†10 Pro 17:10; Pro 27:22 .
†11 2Ch 28:22 . Isa 1:5 . Jer 5:3 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Snaffle. "Bit," or muzzle, (camus) to prevent the animal…
Snaffle. "Bit," or muzzle, (camus) to prevent the animal from biting. (Haydock) --- Septuagint, Arabic, &c., "a goad for an ass." But metheg denotes a bridle. (Montanus; Haydock) asses being there very large, and commonly used for riding, chap. xiii. 13. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3–12 The rod is as much needed by fools and…
The rod is as much needed by fools and as well suited to them, as whips and bridles are for beasts.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 3. Whip… bridle… rod — “According to our English…
3. Whip… bridle… rod — “According to our English notions, we should rather say a bridle for the horse and a whip for the ass. But from numerous passages in the Old Testament it appears that asses were the beasts on which the people, and even the great men, usually rode. Their asses, therefore, being active and well broken, needed but a bridle to guide them, whereas their horses, being, probably, badly broken and easily frightened, would be less manageable, and frequently require the correction of the whip.” The Seventy, perhaps led by the same train of thought as the above, have translated מתג, (metheg,) bridle, by κεντρον, a goad. There is, however, no example of such use of metheg. Instead of “for the back of a fool,” they also read, “for a simple nation.” Comp. Pro_10:13; Pro_19:29; Psa_32:9.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 4, 5. according to] Let not your answer be…
4, 5. according to] Let not your answer be according to his folly in foolishness; but let it be according to it in appositeness.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–12 (4) Answer not a fool.—Comp. Pro_1:22.
(4) Answer not a fool.—Comp. Pro_1:22.
According to his folly.—Do not lower yourself by disputing or arguing with him; he will not take in your meaning, and will think he has got the better of you, perhaps will insult you. It is noticeable that our Lord never answered a question which should not have been asked Him, but always put it by (e.g., Mat_21:23, sqq.; Luk_13:23-24; Luk_23:9; Joh_21:21-22; Act_1:6, sqq.).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–12 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the…
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass. We should be inclined to invert the words, and say a bridle for the horse, and a whip for the ass; but it must be remembered that in early times the horse was not ridden, but only driven. The animals used in riding were the ass and mule, and sometimes the camel. The Eastern ass is really a fine animal, larger, more spirited, and more active than the poor creature which we are wont to see. Or the whip and bridle may be intended to apply to both animals, though divided between the two for rhythmical or antithetical reasons. (see Pro_10:1) A rod for the fool"s back. Sharp correction is beth useful and necessary for the fool. (so on Pro_10:13 Pro_19:29) Similar treatment Siracides advises to be employed in the ease of an idle servant (Ecc 30:24-28). Septuagint, "As a whip for a horse and a goad for an ass, so is a rod for a lawless nation."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 8, 11, 12 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the…
Pro_26:3-11
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fools back.
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Aspects of a fool
Sin is folly. It sacrifices the spiritual for the material, the temporal for the eternal, the pure joys of immortality for the gratification of an hour.
I. He appears here as a servant. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fools back. This proverb inverts our ideas. We should have said, A bridle for the horse, and a whip for the ass. But the Eastern asses have much of the fire of our blood horses, while the horses are often heavy and dull. Therefore the ass there requires the bridle, and the horse the whip--the one to accelerate, the other to restrain and guide activity. As the horse and the ass, in order to be used as the servants of man, require the application of force, so does the fool. A rod for the fools back. If a stubborn sinner is to be made the servant of society, coercion must be employed. Argument, persuasion, example; these moral appliances will affect him but little.
II. He appears here as a debater. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. There is an apparent contradiction here, but it is only apparent. The negative means, we are not to debate with him in his style and spirit, and thus become like him. We are not to descend to his level of speech and temper. The positive means, that we are to answer him as his folly deserves. It may be by silence as well as speech. The fool talks; he is often a great debater.
III. He appears here as a messenger. The meaning of this is, He who would trust a fool with a message might as well cut off his feet, for he will have vexation and maybe damage. How careful should we be to entrust important business to trustworthy persons! Solomon himself drank damage, by employing an industrious servant, but a fool in wickedness, who lifted up his hand against the king, and spoiled his son of ten parts of his kingdom (1Ki_11:26-40). Benhadad drank damage by sending a message by the hands of Hazael, who murdered his master when the way was opened for his own selfish purposes (2Ki_8:8-15). Much of the business of life is carried on by messengers or agents. How much a mercantile firm suffers by improper representatives!
IV. He appears here as a teacher. The legs of the lame are not equal, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. It is not very uncommon to find fools sustaining the office and performing the functions of teachers. They have a parable in their mouth. The verses suggest two things concerning them as teachers--
1. That they appear very ridiculous. The legs of the lame are not equal, so is a parable in the hands of fools. The idea seems to be, as the cripple who desires to appear nimble and agile appears ridiculous in his lame efforts to walk, so the fool appears ridiculous in his efforts to teach.
2. As teachers, they are generally very mischievous. As a thorn goeth up into the hand of the drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. The idea is, that a fool handling the doctrines of wisdom is like a drunken man handling thorns. The besotted inebriate, not knowing what he is about, lays hold of the thorn and perforates his own nerves. The wise sayings in the mouth of a stupid man are self-condemnatory.
V. He appears here as a commissioner. The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool and rewardeth transgressors. The word God is not in the original. The margin is the more faithful translation--A great man giveth all, and he hireth the fool; he hireth also transgressors. The idea seems to be, that when worldly princes employ fools for the public service it is a source of anxiety and trouble to all good citizens. The lesson has application from the throne downwards, through all the descriptions of subsidiary trusts. Extensive proprietors, who employ overseers of their tenants, or of those engaged in their manufactories, or mines, or whatever else be the description of their property, should see to the character of these overseers. Their power may be abused, and multitudes of workmen suffer, when the owner--the master--knows nothing of what is going on. But he ought to know. Many complainings and strikes, well or ill-founded, have their origin here.
VI. He appears here as a reprobate. The emblem here is disgusting, but the thing signified is infinitely more so. Peter quotes this proverb (2Pe_2:20-22). The wicked man often sickens at his wickedness, and then returns to it again. Thus Pharaoh returned from his momentary conviction (Exo_8:8-15); Ahab from his pretended repentance (1Ki_21:1-29.); Herod from his partial amendment (Mar_6:20-27). (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv3, 12 Pro_26:3. To our English ideas, the whip and bridle…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_26:3. To our English ideas, the whip and bridle are assigned respectively to the wrong animals, but it must be remembered that the Eastern ass is often quite as spirited an animal as the horse.
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Pro_26:6. Drinketh damage, or “injury.” As in Job_21:20, the verb “drinketh” seems to express suffering in a large measure.
Pro_26:7. Are not equal. The Hebrew word, so rendered, is a very obscure one, and is rendered by Delitzsch, Gesenius, and others, “hang down.” Zöckler and Stuart give the sentence the imperative form, and read, “Take away the legs from the lame, and the proverb in the fool’s mouth.” Parable. This is the common word for proverb—the word that gives the title to the book. On its real meaning, see the Introduction.
Pro_26:8. Sling. Gesenius, Zöckler, and many other commentators, adopt the reading in the margin of the English version, and translate this word, which is very obscure, “a heap of stones.” Stuart, Ewald, Delitzsch, and others, retain the word “sling,” which is the reading of the Septuagint. Stuart thus explains the verse, “It would be absurd to bind a stone in a sling, and then expect it to do execution. Equally so is it to bestow honour on a fool, and expect any good consequences from it.” If the first rendering is adopted, the word stone must be understood to refer to a precious stone.
Pro_26:9. A thorn. This is generally understood to mean a thorny stick or staff, which is a mischievous weapon in the hands of a drunkard.
Pro_26:10. This verse is very difficult and obscure, and has many and entirely different renderings. Luther, Elster, and others, translate the subject of the first clause, “A master, an able man, formeth all aright,—or all himself.” Delitzsch, Umbreit, and Hitzig, read, “Much produceth all.” The French version is in substance the same as our English marginal rendering. Perhaps the greater number of Hebrew critics favour the rendering of Zöckler, Ewald, Stier, etc., who read, “As an archer, who woundeth everything, so is he who hireth fools and vagrants” (or wayfarers). Stuart and Miller translate the first word, “arrow,” and the former thus explains the proverb, “He who employs fools and vagrants to do his work, will injure himself.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Pro_26:3-11
A LOW LEVEL
I. A moral fool puts himself on a level with the brute by turning a deaf ear to the voices of reason and conscience. That which above all other characteristics distinguishes man from the lower animals is the possession of a moral sense and a reasoning faculty; these are the great lights which God has given him for his guidance, by the use of which he may ever be rising to a higher moral and intellectual level. But the moral fool does not listen to them, and even after he has tasted the bitterness of disregarding them, and even while he is suffering from the evil effects of his folly, he gives evidence of his moral stupidity by returning to it (Pro_26:11). This is a plain proof that he is “as the horse or the mule, which have no understanding.” (Psa_32:9).
II. Having chosen his position he must be treated accordingly. When men act like men—when their conduct is such as befits responsible and rational creatures—they are open to reason and persuasion, and their fellow-men are bound to use such means in their intercourse with them. They are bound to listen to what they have to say, and to reply to their questions and consider their objections. But to do this with such a person as is here called a fool would be to disobey our Saviour’s injunction, and to “cast our pearls before swine.” It would be letting ourselves down to his level and encouraging him in his self-conceit. This, we think, is the meaning of Pro_26:4. But, on the other hand, we are not always to be silent when the fool is talking. This also might lead him to think that his foolish arguments were unanswerable—that we thought him as wise as he thinks himself to be. He is to receive sometimes the stern rebuke that his folly deserves; the manifestation of our displeasure is to be in proportion to his manifestation of weakness and wickedness. This will also be “answering a fool according to his folly,” as in Pro_26:5. But a fool must be checked by means that will perhaps make more impression upon him than mere words. The rod must be applied—coercion and punishment must come into use where reason and moral persuasion are useless. Having placed himself on a level with the brute, he must be ruled sometimes by brute force—by the whip of compulsion, and by the bridle of restraint. Men have the power of doing this to a certain extent, and it is their duty to use it. But whether they do or do not, God will certainly visit such an offender with the rod of punishment. Whether this is the truth contained in Pro_26:10 or not, revelation and experience affirm it, and we have met with it repeatedly in this book. It is a great offence against Him who called us into being, and who desires His creatures to be worthy of their Creator, when men thus in practice count themselves unworthy of their destiny. The Hebrew nation, in the bygone ages, was called by God to occupy a higher moral level than the surrounding nations, but by its own stubbornness and self-conceit it made the purpose of God of none effect, and was therefore necessarily made to feel the bitterness of being treated like a wild and refractory animal (Jer_31:18). And so is it with men in general. God would treat them as His sons, but their moral foolishness compels Him to make them feel the whip, the bridle, and the rod. One other thought is suggested in Pro_26:7-8—
III. That even the fool will sometimes adopt the speech of the wise. A parable, or wise saying, will sometimes be found on his lips, he will be sometimes heard to utter words of wisdom and give good advice. But precept is of little avail if not backed by a good example; the words and the deeds of such a man are as ill-matched as those of a cripple who has one sound and useful limb, but whose other is shrunken and useless. The gait of such a man is awkward and uncertain, the malformed and the healthy limb do not well balance his body. This is an apt illustration of the incongruity which often exists between the words and actions of a moral fool.
(For Homiletics on Pro_26:6; Pro_26:8 considered separately see on Pro_26:1, page 714, and on chap. Pro_10:26, page 179.)
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_26:3. The rod is needful for the fool’s back. Are you the unhappy fathers of foolish children? you must make use of the rod and reproof to give them wisdom. Are you authorised to bear rule in the church? the rod of church discipline must be applied to offenders, that they may be reclaimed, and others warned. Are you magistrates; the rod which God has put into your hands may be a means of preserving young malefactors from the gibbet at a more advanced period of life. Are you wise? beware of turning aside unto folly, that you may never need the rod. Are you fools? learn wisdom, or do not blame those whom duty and charity will oblige to use the rod for your correction.—Lawson.
Pro_26:4-5. Answer a fool, not with any dream that you thoroughly answer him, lest you be like him, and a fool yourself. And yet, by all means answer him. Answer wherever you can, lest he think you can’t; exploding all baseless heresies and mistakes; lest, hardening himself where he might be convinced, and defrauding himself where there is everything to be said, he erect himself against facts where he has not been taught, and become wise in his own eyes.… Answer not a fool, because much mystery does not admit of answer, and you will be a fool yourself. But more. The natural man does not discern the things of the spirit of God. If you answer a natural man with the idea that mere answers can turn him, you must “be like him,” as having no sense yourself of what is purely spiritual. Notice here a grand rebuke of reason in all attempts to convince the sinner. Nevertheless answer a fool, and bow to just as great a rebuke to reason. We use reason far too gingerly. Reason is a Divine creation. It is an instrument. There is a thought as though it were wicked to go too deep. On the contrary, we are to out-think the fool. If we leave science to work her way, she will grow wise in her own conceit. Answer her. Rationalistic infidelity is by no means an infidelity in reason. And the church should make that to be seen. Scripture has been belied in the direction of Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 2) Nothing is more irrational than rationalism. And one of the first answers to the fool which he shall receive in the judgment will be, that he had all the reason for believing Christ which he had for anything beside, and a host of greater ones peculiar to the gospel.—Miller.
These two sentences may seem at the first blush to be contrary … but this knot will be easily untied if it be observed that there are two sorts of answers, the one in folly, the other unto folly. A fool is not to be answered in his folly, or according unto his folly, that is to say, in such vanity as he useth, or after such a raging manner as he speaketh … A fool is to be answered unto his folly; that is, by reasons to be confuted, and by reproofs that are wise to be bridled.—Muffett.
Generally speaking, it would be better to follow Hezekiah’s command concerning Rabshakeh’s blasphemy—“Answer him not.” Jeremiah thus turned away in silence from the folly of the false prophets. (Jer_28:11.) If however we are constrained to reply—Answer him not according to his folly; not in his own foolish manner; “not rendering railing for railing.” (1Pe_3:9.) Moses offended here. He answered the rebels according to their folly—passion for passion, and thus he became like unto them. David’s answer to Nabal was in the same humiliating spirit. The answerer in this case is like the fool. He appears at the time to be cast in the same mould.—Bridges.
Pro_26:7. Uniformity and ubiquity of obedience are sure signs of sincerity; but as an unequal pulse argues a distempered body, so doth uneven walking a diseased soul. A wise man’s life is all of one colour, like itself, and godliness runs through it, as the woof runs through the warp. But if all the parts of the line of thy life be not straight before God, it is a crooked life. If thy tongue speak by the talent, but thine hands scarce work by the ounce, thou shalt pass for a Pharisee (Mat_23:3). They spake like angels, lived like devils; had heaven commonly at their tongue ends, but the earth continually at their finger ends.—Trapp.
Pro_26:9. When a drunkard carries and brandishes in his hand a sweet briar, he scratches more with it than he allows the roses to be smelled; so a fool with the Scriptures or a judicial maxim oft causes more harm than profit.—Luther.
Proverbs have sometimes been hurtful even in the mouths of wise men, through the imperfection of their wisdom. Job’s friends dealt much in parables, which they had learned by tradition from their wise ancestors, but they misapplied them to the case of Job; and although they meant to plead the cause of God, yet they displeased Him so much by their uncharitable speeches against Job, which they drew by unjust inference from undoubted truths, that He told them they had not spoken the thing that was right concerning Him as His servant Job had done. If Job had not been a strong believer, their management of truth must have sunk him into despondency.—Lawson.
Pro_26:11. The emblem is a loathsome and sickening one. It is meant to be so. It would not have been appropriate, had it been anything else. There are two ideas conveyed by the comparison. The disposition or tendency, on the part of the fool or vicious man, to return to his folly; and the loathsomeness—the vileness—of the thing itself, when it does take place. There are persons of great pretensions to refinement, who affect great disgust at the comparison. They wonder how anybody of ordinary delicacy can utter it. They would think their lips polluted by the very words. It were well for such persons to remember, that there is no comparison so odious as the thing itself which is represented by it. It were well if such persons would transfer their disgust and loathing at the figure to that which the figure represents:—if they would cherish a proper loathing of sin. That is what God holds in abhorrence:—that is what should be abhorred by us. Persons may affect to sicken at the comparison here used, and yet be themselves exemplifying the very conduct it so aptly represents. Folly and sin are incomparably more polluting and debasing to the nature of man, than the vilest and most disgusting practices in the inferior animals.”—Wardlaw.
And is this the picture of man—“made a little lower than the angels” (Psa_8:5)—yea—“made in the likeness of God?” (Gen_1:26.) Who that saw Adam in his universal dominion, sitting as the monarch of creation; summoning all before him; giving to each his name, and receiving in turn his homage (Ib. Pro_2:20)—who would have conceived of his children sunk into such brutish degradation? The tempter’s promise was—“Ye shall be as gods” (Ib. Pro_3:5). The result of this promise was—“Ye shall be as beasts.” … Thus greedily did Pharaoh return from his momentary conviction; Ahab from his feigned repentance; Herod from his partial amendment; the drunkard from his brutish insensibility—all to take a more determinate course of sin; to take their final plunge into ruin.—Bridges.
According to the usual method of the Scriptures, a known thing is here employed to teach an unknown. The taste which inheres in nature is used as an instrument to implant the corresponding spiritual sensibility. The revulsion of the senses from a loathsome object is used as a lever power to press into the soul a dislike of sin.… The lines are strongly drawn, that the lesson may be clear and cutting. There must be a rude hearty blow, for there is a hard searing to be penetrated. Those who go back to suck at sins, which they once repudiated, may see in this terse proverb a picture of their pollution; only the Omniscient perfectly knows and loathes the vile original—Arnot.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5, 7, 9, 11 A whip is for the horse, a bridle is…
A whip is for the horse, a bridle is for the donkey and a rod is for the back of fools
A whip, a bridle, and a rod are things that people use to make the horse, donkey, and fool do what they want.
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a bridle is for the donkey
A bridle is made of straps. People put it on a donkey's head and hold one of the straps to make the donkey go the way they want it to go.
a rod is for the back of fools
In the Bible, people would hit their children or their slaves with a wooden rod in order to discipline them.
translationWords
horse
donkey
rod
fool
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 26:3 A fool is like a dumb animal that…
26:3 A fool is like a dumb animal that can only be guided by brute force (see 10:13; 14:3).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.