Proverbs 27:3

3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

Proverbs 27:3 in Other Translations

3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.

3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both.

3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.

3 Carrying a log across your shoulders while you're hefting a boulder with your arms Is nothing compared to the burden of putting up with a fool.

3 A stone is heavy and sand, a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

Proverbs 27:3 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 27:3

A stone [is] heavy, and the sand weighty
As was the stone which was at the well's mouth, where Laban's flocks were watered, which could not be rolled away till all the shepherds were gathered together, ( Genesis 29:2 Genesis 29:3 Genesis 29:8 ) ; and like the burdensome stone Jerusalem is compared to ( Zechariah 12:3 ) ; and as that at the sepulchre of Christ, rolled away by the angel, ( Matthew 28:2 ) . And sand is a very ponderous thing; difficult to be carried, as the Septuagint render it, as a bag of it is; and to which heavy afflictions are sometimes compared, ( Job 6:2 Job 6:3 ) ;

but a fool's wrath [is] heavier than them both;
it cannot be removed, it rests in his bosom; it is sometimes intolerable to himself; he sinks and dies under the weight of it, as Nabal did: "wrath killeth the foolish man", ( Job 5:2 ) ; and it is still more intolerable to others, as Nebuchadnezzar's wrath and his fiery furnace were.

Proverbs 27:3 In-Context

1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.

3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?

5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

Cross References

• 1. S Job 6:3