Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 26:17 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: World English Bible — Catholic Edition
" Like one who grabs a dog’s ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own. "
Proverbs 26:17
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.
17 Like one who grabs a dog’s ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.
18 Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?”
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What is condemned here is interfering in a quarrel that does not belong to us. If we must not be quick to fight for our own cause (Proverbs 25:8), we certainly should not jump into other people’s disputes, especially when we have no real connection to them and only happen to come across them.
If we can help bring peace between people who are at odds, we should do so, even if both sides dislike us for a time while their anger is still hot. But to get involved in other people’s troubles, and take sides in their quarrels, is to invite our own trouble and put ourselves in danger. “Who made me a judge?” is the right question. Let them settle it themselves, the same way they began it.
We are warned against this because of the danger it brings. It is like grabbing a snapping dog by the ears. He will bite you if you let go, but if you keep holding on, your hands are full and you cannot do anything else. You may wish later that you had never touched the matter at all, because you may end up hurt and shamed.
So let each person work quietly and attend to his own business, and not stir up trouble by meddling in what does not concern him.
From This Chapter
Proverbs 26:1
"Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool."
Proverbs 26:2
"Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest."
Proverbs 26:3
"A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools!"
Proverbs 26:4
"Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him."
Proverbs 26:5
"Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes."
Proverbs 26:6
"One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence."
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