A contentious wife is like a constant drip on a long rainy day. Restraining her contention is like restraining wind or grasping oil in the hand.
A grouped saying on a difficult marriage is presented in Proverbs 27:15-16: A constant dripping on a day of steady rain and a contentious woman are alike (v. 15). The image is tedious.
The picture is of a leaky roof during a long rainstorm: A constant dripping on a day of steady rain. The drip is small but unrelenting. Each drop, by itself, is harmless. Together, they reduce the household to misery, ruin furnishings, and erode whatever is below.
And a contentious woman are alike. The wife whose contention is constant, low-grade, and unrelenting wears down her husband and household the same way. No single complaint is catastrophic. The cumulative effect is.
Verse 16 follows up with an image of futility: He who would restrain her restrains the wind, and grasps oil with his right hand (v. 16).
He who would restrain her restrains the wind. The man who tries to stop the contentious woman's contention by reasoning, arguing, or insisting is doing what no one can do. Wind cannot be held in the hand. Her contention is similarly elusive.
And grasps oil with his right hand. Oil slips through fingers no matter how tightly the hand closes. The husband attempting to grasp her contention finds it always escaping his grip. The verse names a sober reality: deeply rooted contention in a marriage, by the time it has become a constant pattern, will not yield to argument. The wise reader is warned to watch for early signs and to address them early.
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Proverbs 27:15-16 meaning
A grouped saying on a difficult marriage is presented in Proverbs 27:15-16: A constant dripping on a day of steady rain and a contentious woman are alike (v. 15). The image is tedious.
The picture is of a leaky roof during a long rainstorm: A constant dripping on a day of steady rain. The drip is small but unrelenting. Each drop, by itself, is harmless. Together, they reduce the household to misery, ruin furnishings, and erode whatever is below.
And a contentious woman are alike. The wife whose contention is constant, low-grade, and unrelenting wears down her husband and household the same way. No single complaint is catastrophic. The cumulative effect is.
Verse 16 follows up with an image of futility: He who would restrain her restrains the wind, and grasps oil with his right hand (v. 16).
He who would restrain her restrains the wind. The man who tries to stop the contentious woman's contention by reasoning, arguing, or insisting is doing what no one can do. Wind cannot be held in the hand. Her contention is similarly elusive.
And grasps oil with his right hand. Oil slips through fingers no matter how tightly the hand closes. The husband attempting to grasp her contention finds it always escaping his grip. The verse names a sober reality: deeply rooted contention in a marriage, by the time it has become a constant pattern, will not yield to argument. The wise reader is warned to watch for early signs and to address them early.