Proverbs 26:1

1 Praise for a fool is out of place, like snow in summer or rain at harvest time.

Proverbs 26:1 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 26:1

As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest
Which were very undesirable and unseasonable, yea, very hurtful to the fruits of the earth; and a great obstruction to the labourers in the harvest, and a hinderance to the gathering of it in; and were very rare and uncommon in Judea; it was even a miracle for thunder and rain to be in wheat harvest, ( 1 Samuel 12:17 ) ; so honour is not seemly for a fool:
for a wicked man; such should not be favoured by kings, and set in high places of honour and trust; "folly set in great dignity", or foolish and bad men set in honourable places, are as unsuitable and inconvenient as snow and rain in summer and harvest, and should be as rare as they; and they are as hurtful and pernicious, since they discourage virtue and encourage vice, and hinder the prosperity of the commonwealth; such vile persons are contemned in the eyes of good men, and are disregarded of God; he will not give, theft, glory here nor hereafter; the wise shall inherit it, but shame shall be the promotion of fools, ( Proverbs 3:35 ) ; see ( Ecclesiastes 10:6 ) .

Proverbs 26:1 In-Context

1 Praise for a fool is out of place, like snow in summer or rain at harvest time.

2 Curses cannot hurt you unless you deserve them. They are like birds that fly by and never light.

3 You have to whip a horse, you have to bridle a donkey, and you have to beat a fool.

4 If you answer a silly question, you are just as silly as the person who asked it.

5 Give a silly answer to a silly question, and the one who asked it will realize that he's not as smart as he thinks.