Proverbs 26:9-19

TEXT Proverbs 26:9-19

9.

As a thorn that goeth up into the hand of a drunkard,

So is a parable in the mouth of fools.

10.

As an archer that woundeth all,

So is he that hireth a fool and he that hireth them that pass by.

11.

As a dog that returneth to his vomit,

So is a fool that repeateth his folly.

12.

Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit?

There is more hope of a fool than of him.

13.

The sluggard saith, There is a lion in the way;

A lion is in the streets.

14.

As the door turneth upon its hinges,

So doth the sluggard upon his bed.

15.

The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish;

It wearieth him to bring it again to his mouth.

16.

The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit

Than seven men that can render a reason.

17.

He that passeth by, and vexeth himself with strife belonging not to him,

Is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.

18.

As a madman who casteth firebrands,

Arrows, and death,

19.

So is the man that deceiveth his neighbor,

And saith, Am not I in sport?

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 26:9-19

1.

What is the comparison in Proverbs 26:9?

2.

What do you understand from the comparison in Proverbs 26:10?

3.

Where is Proverbs 26:11 quoted in the New Testament?

4.

After many passages degrading fools, where does Proverbs 26:12 place the conceited person?

5.

Why was the sluggard saying what Proverbs 26:13 says?

6.

What does the sluggard do a lot of (Proverbs 26:14)?

7.

Can a person be so lazy that he is a burden even to himself (Proverbs 26:15)?

8.

Why would a sluggard be as Proverbs 26:16 says?

9.

How can the two actions of Proverbs 26:17 be compared?

10.

Who is a madman in Proverbs 26:18?

11.

What is meant by in sport (Proverbs 26:19)?

PARAPHRASE OF 26:9-19

9.

A rebel will misapply an illustration so that its point will no more be felt than a thorn in the hand of a drunkard.

10.

The master may get better work from an untrained apprentice than from a skilled rebel!

11.

As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

12.

There is one thing worse than a fool, and that is a man who is conceited.

13.

The lazy man won-'t go out and work. There might be a lion outside! he says.

14.

He sticks to his bed like a door to its hinges!

15.

He is too tired even to lift his food from his dish to his mouth!

16.

Yet in his own opinion he is smarter than seven wise men.

17.

Yanking a dog's ears is no more foolish than interfering in an argument that isn-'t any of your business.

18, 19.

A man who is caught lying to his neighbor and says, I was just fooling, is like a madman throwing around firebrands, arrows and death!

COMMENTS ON 26:9-19

Proverbs 26:9. Pulpit Commentary: There is here no idea of a drunkard's hand being pierced with a thorn...but rather of his being armed with it. Lange: When a drunkard carries and brandishes in his hand a sweet briar... Would it be dangerous for a drunkard to get a branch of a thorn bush in his hand and began hitting people with it? Is a parable in the mouth of a fool not also dangerous in another way?

Proverbs 26:10. Pulpit Commentary: A careless, random way of doing business, taking into one's service fools, or entrusting matters of importance to any chance loiterer, is as dangerous as shooting arrows about recklessly without caring whither they flew or whom they wounded.

Proverbs 26:11. The Bible here and in 2 Peter 2:20 (which quotes it) calls upon one of the most obnoxious sights in nature to teach us a lesson: that of a dog who has just given up (vomited) what he had partaken of and then turning around and eating it again. This verse applies it to a fool returning to his acts of foolishness while 2 Peter 2:20 applies it to a backslider returning to his former sins.

Proverbs 26:12. Pulpit Commentary: Nothing so shuts the door against improvement as self-conceit. -Woe unto them,-' says Isaiah 5:21, -that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.-' Such persons, professing themselves wise, become fools (Romans 1:22)...Touching conceit, the Oriental speaks of the fox finding his shadow very large, and of the wolf when alone thinking himself a lion. Romans 12:3 says, I say...to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. Romans 12:16: Be not wise in your own conceits. Galatians 6:3: If a man thinketh himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. This verse says there is more hope for a fool than for a conceited person; Proverbs 29:20 says the same concerning a man hasty in his words.

Proverbs 26:13. Proverbs 22:13 says the same thing. Proverbs has much to say about laziness: Proverbs 6:6-9; Proverbs 10:4-5; Proverbs 18:9; Proverbs 19:15; Proverbs 19:24; Proverbs 20:4; Proverbs 22:13; Proverbs 24:30-31; Proverbs 26:14; Proverbs 26:16. That is a lot of material on the subjectmore than any other Bible book gives to it.

Proverbs 26:14. Just as a gate turns upon its hinges, so does the sluggard when aroused turn over (roll over onto his other side) for more sleep. Some of the other explanations given to this comparison are at least entertaining: the door turns on its hinges but goes nowhere; so does a sluggard upon his bed and goes nowhere; while the door opens to let the diligent go forth to their work, the sluggard turns upon his bed and sleeps on; the door creaks when moved, and so does the sluggard when aroused; etc.

Proverbs 26:15. Proverbs 19:24 says the same thing. It is hard for us to imagine people this lazy, but experience teaches one not to be too surprised at anything!

Proverbs 26:16. This verse sounds like what we call park-bench authorities and sidewalk superintendentsmen who are doing nothing and who have no authority over a project, but who never question their judgment: they always know how it should have been done. Many times the uneducated who are lazy are cursed with the spirit of egotism. Ever try to tell them something? Quoting from your commentator's book, Simple, Stimulating Studies in the Proverbs: Those men with just enough ambition to get up town to spend the day on some benches talking, whittling, and arguing have all the answers. They can tell the President how to run this country, yet nobody ever thought enough of their insight to have them put on any political ticket. They could tell the Secretary of Agriculture (whose problems relate to the corn farmer, the cotton farmer, the fruit farmer, the wheat farmer, the nut farmer, the hay farmer, the dairy farmer, the ranches, the poultryman, the nation's surpluses, and a hundred other large fields) just how to handle his job when they themselves cannot even have a respectable garden.

Proverbs 26:17. Grabbing a dog by his ears is not recommended, for he will pull loose and turn on you. Nor is getting involved with other people's strife a good thing. Ever hear of the passerby who stopped to take a woman's part against her husband who was hitting her when she turned on her helper and beaned him over the head? This does not mean that one should never try to help those who are having trouble (How else could one be a peacemaker? Matthew 5:9). But this is a warning about meddling in other people's matters (1 Peter 4:15).

Proverbs 26:18. This saying is different from others in Proverbs in that the dependent clause is in one verse and the independent in the next. The madman may be a man gone bersirk or an insane man who gets hold of dangerous weapons and begins throwing them around and endangering the lives of his fellowmen.

Proverbs 26:19. Just as the law will excuse an insane person for the damage he has caused (Proverbs 26:18), so some whose mischievous conduct or wicked words have brought serious damage to another try to excuse themselves by saying, I didn-'t mean to, I was just joking, etc. Too many people try to joke their way through life, and then if something happens that shouldn-'t, they say, I didn-'t mean it.

TEST QUESTIONS OVER 26:9-19

1.

What verse in this chapter other than Proverbs 26:9 spoke of a parable in the mouth of fools?

2.

What is wrong about hiring just anybody (Proverbs 26:10)?

3.

How does 2 Peter 2:20 apply to Proverbs 26:11?

4.

What does the Bible say about conceit (Proverbs 26:12)?

5.

Why does Proverbs have so much to say about laziness (Proverbs 26:13)?

6.

What are some of the ideas put forth concerning Proverbs 26:14?

7.

How lazy can a person get (Proverbs 26:15)?

8.

What kind of person do you visualize in Proverbs 26:16?

9.

What is like grabbing a dog by the ears (Proverbs 26:17)?

10.

What will a madman sometimes do (Proverbs 26:18)?

11.

How do some people try to excuse themselves from guilt in serious matters (Proverbs 26:19)?