Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 26:3 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: King James Version
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back.
Proverbs 26:3
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
1 As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.
2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.
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Wicked people are compared to a horse and a donkey because they can become so foolish, stubborn, and unruly. Sin lowers people so much that they act below what they were made to be. A person is born like a wild donkey’s colt, but some are changed by God’s grace and become sensible. Others harden themselves through a habit of sin and grow more and more dull, like the horse and the mule (Psalm 32:9).
The lesson is that such people must be dealt with in a fitting way. Princes, instead of giving honor to a fool (Proverbs 26:1), should bring shame on him. Instead of putting power in his hands, they should keep power over him. An unbroken horse needs a whip, and a donkey needs a bridle to guide him and keep him from wandering off. In the same way, a wicked person who will not accept the guidance and restraint of religion and reason should be sharply corrected and kept from doing harm again.
From This Chapter
Proverbs 26:1
"As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool."
Proverbs 26:2
"As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come."
Proverbs 26:4
"Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him."
Proverbs 26:5
"Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit."
Proverbs 26:6
"He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage."
Proverbs 26:7
"The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools."
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