Patient forbearance can persuade a ruler, and a soft tongue can break a bone.
The striking image of Proverbs 25:15 names the unexpected power of patience: By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue breaks the bone (v. 15).
By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded. The man who is patient with a ruler, who waits, who keeps returning calmly, who refuses to demand or threaten, gains influence the ruler did not expect to grant. Forbearance, sustained over time, opens doors that pressure cannot.
A soft tongue breaks the bone. The image is paradoxical and memorable. A bone is the hardest part of the body. A tongue is among the softest. Yet sustained gentle speech, applied over time, accomplishes what blunt force cannot. Compare Proverbs 15:1, "A gentle answer turns away wrath." Solomon respects what gentleness, given enough patience, can do to even the most resistant heart.
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Proverbs 25:15 meaning
The striking image of Proverbs 25:15 names the unexpected power of patience: By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue breaks the bone (v. 15).
By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded. The man who is patient with a ruler, who waits, who keeps returning calmly, who refuses to demand or threaten, gains influence the ruler did not expect to grant. Forbearance, sustained over time, opens doors that pressure cannot.
A soft tongue breaks the bone. The image is paradoxical and memorable. A bone is the hardest part of the body. A tongue is among the softest. Yet sustained gentle speech, applied over time, accomplishes what blunt force cannot. Compare Proverbs 15:1, "A gentle answer turns away wrath." Solomon respects what gentleness, given enough patience, can do to even the most resistant heart.