Stones and sand are heavy, but the provocation of a fool is heavier than both.
Three heavy burdens are stacked into the short comparison made in Proverbs 27:3: A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, but the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them (v. 3).
A heavy stone and weighty sand are common figures of physical burden. A man carrying stones tires quickly. Sand, while it shifts, accumulates weight that surprises even strong workers.
But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them. The fool's irritation, his needling, his persistent foolish behavior, weighs more on the one bearing it than the heaviest physical loads. Stones can be set down. The provocation of a fool follows the wise man into his bed at night, into his thoughts during the day. The verse acknowledges what every reader has experienced: the unique exhaustion of dealing with a fool who will not stop being foolish.
Proverbs 27:3
3 A stone is heavy and the sand weighty,
But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them.
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Proverbs 27:3 meaning
Three heavy burdens are stacked into the short comparison made in Proverbs 27:3: A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, but the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them (v. 3).
A heavy stone and weighty sand are common figures of physical burden. A man carrying stones tires quickly. Sand, while it shifts, accumulates weight that surprises even strong workers.
But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them. The fool's irritation, his needling, his persistent foolish behavior, weighs more on the one bearing it than the heaviest physical loads. Stones can be set down. The provocation of a fool follows the wise man into his bed at night, into his thoughts during the day. The verse acknowledges what every reader has experienced: the unique exhaustion of dealing with a fool who will not stop being foolish.