Proverbs 26:9

9 Like a thorn branch in the hand of a drunk is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

Proverbs 26:9 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 26:9

[As] a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard
And he perceives it not; or being in his hand he makes an ill use of it, and hurts himself and others with it; so [is] a parable in the mouth of fools,
a proverbial sentence respecting religious matters; or a passage of holy Scripture which either he understands not, and has no spiritual perception of, any more than the drunkard has of the thorn in his hand; or which being used as a pun, or by way of jest, as it is the manner of some to pun upon or jest with the Scripture, hurts himself and others, wounds his own conscience, and ruins the souls of others; for it is dangerous meddling with edge tools, and hard to kick against the pricks; so to do is like a drunken man's handling thorns, which he does without judgment, and to his own prejudice and others. Gussetius ^F24 understands this of a fish hook coming up into the hand of a drunkard empty, without taking any thing by it, and so alike useless is what is said by a fool.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 Ebr. Comment. p. 244.

Proverbs 26:9 In-Context

7 The legs of the disabled hang limp and useless; likewise a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

8 Like one who ties his stone to the sling is he who gives honor to a fool.

9 Like a thorn branch in the hand of a drunk is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

10 A master can make anything, but hiring a fool is like hiring some passer-by.

11 Just as a dog returns to his vomit, a fool repeats his folly.