Proverbs 27:16

Whosoever hideth&c. The verse is better rendered:

He that would restrain her restraineth the wind,

And his right hand meets with oil.

"She is as subtle as wind, as slippery as oil," Rel. Tr. Soc. Comm.

The A.V. takes the second clause of the verse to mean, You might as well try to conceal ointment in your right hand, which would certainly betray its presence, either by its odour, or by trickling through your fingers. But the proverb is at once more forcible and more harmonious, when it speaks of restraining the wind and grasping the oil.