Proverbs 26:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

NIV: Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

NASB: Like a thorn that sticks in the hand of a heavy drinker, So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.

CSB: A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a stick with thorns, brandished by the hand of a drunkard.

NLT: A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.

KJV: As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

NKJV: Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

The book of Proverbs uses terms like "fool" and "foolishness" to mean those who reject godly wisdom, truth, and common sense (Proverbs 1:7; 3:5–8). When someone resists truth, they become numb to wisdom. Ideas that immediately catch a wise person's attention are missed entirely by the fool. This proverb illustrates this using the metaphor of someone so drunk they don't feel a thorn stabbing into their hand. The encounter makes no difference; it's as if it's never happened.

A secondary application may be related to an earlier proverb (Proverbs 26:7). A drunk person is clumsy; they won't be skilled at pulling slivers out of their hands. A person lacking wisdom might "have" a proverb—a general-case statement of wisdom—but they can't do anything with it. Merely memorizing words or repeating phrases doesn't make a person wise.

When the apostle Paul presented the gospel to Agrippa, Agrippa shrugged it off saying, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?" (Acts 26:28). Rather than being convinced, Agrippa was indifferent. Jude describes apostates as blaspheming "all that they do not understand" (Jude 1:10). They don't learn, they simply mock what they don't grasp. The apostle Peter writes about people who fail to accept the hard-to-understand things in Paul's letters. Peter writes that "the ignorant and unstable twist [those things] to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:16).

Proverbs 26:1–12 is mostly a series of blunt, negative remarks about a "fool;" the word appears in all but one verse. In the book of Proverbs, a "fool" is one who rejects godly wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). The segment also includes a famous pair of statements which seem contradictory. Since verses 4 and 5 are written side-by-side, the implication is that there are times where one approach or the other is best. Generally, those who ignore God's truth (Proverbs 8:34–36) are dangerous and unreliable.

This chapter includes three main sections. The first repeatedly refers to a "fool," meaning someone lacking godly wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). The second warns against being lazy. The third condemns careless conflict, lying, and warns about those who disguise their hate with words. Several statements in this passage repeat or echo others made in the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs is best understood in context with the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. In Proverbs, “wisdom” is given in short, simple, general terms. Ecclesiastes represents wisdom based on observation and experience. This often shows how the general principles of the book of Proverbs don’t apply in absolutely every circumstance. Job represents wisdom based on the experience of suffering and injustice. All three come to the conclusion that God does indeed know best, and the most sensible course of action is to follow His will.