Proverbs 27:3

3 A stone is heavy, and sand cumbersome; but a fool's wrath is heavier than 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 Boast not of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what the next day shall bring forth.

2 Let thy neighbour, and not thine own mouth, praise thee; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

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

4 Wrath is merciless, and anger sharp: but envy can bear nothing.

5 Open reproofs are better than secret love.