Proverbs 10:26
in Proverbs 10Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the slacker to those who send him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, So is the sluggard to them that send him.
KJV
As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.
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This verse in Proverbs 10
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAs vinegar to the teeth - The acid softening and dissolving the alkali of the bone, so as to impair their texture, and render them incapable of masticating; and as smoke affects the eyes, irritating their tender vessels, so as to give pain and prevent distinct vision; so the sluggard, the lounging, thriftless messenger, who never returns in time with the desired answer.
This site's exposition
As vinegar to the teeth
on Proverbs 10:26-32
The chapter's closing set returns to comparison, the method that opened chapter 26's gallery of the fool: the sluggard sent on an errand is vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, irritation delivered instead of the help that was asked for. The fear of the Lord prolongeth days answers the book's motto once more, and the run of couplets that follows, the righteous never removed, the wicked not inhabiting the earth, the just mouth bringing forth wisdom against the froward tongue cut out, gathers the chapter's whole argument into one closing rhythm. Delitzsch notes the final line, the lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, as the positive form of everything the chapter has said in the negative about the wicked mouth.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Just as vinegar to the teeth, etc. Just as the treachery of heretics generates trouble and tears for good teachers, so a Catholic living badly is a burden through laziness to those who have been commanded to show their faith through works. For the eyes …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
As vinegar to the teeth,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The teeth set on edge by the sour wine used by peasants Rth 2:14; Psa 69:21, the eye irritated by wood-smoke, these shadow the annoyance of having a messenger who will loiter on the way.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כַּחֹ֤מֶץ׀ | kachometz | like <the> vinegar | H2558 → | |
| לַשִּׁנַּ֗יִם | lashinayim | to the teeth | H8127 → | 55 times |
| וְכֶעָשָׁ֥ן | vekheashan | and like <the> smoke | H6227 → | |
| לָעֵינָ֑יִם | laeinayim | to the eyes | H5869 → | 887 times |
| כֵּ֥ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הֶ֝עָצֵ֗ל | heatzel | the sluggard | H6102 → | 14 times |
| לְשֹׁלְחָֽיו׃ | lesholechav | to [those who] send him | H7971 → | 845 times |
כַּחֹ֤מֶץ׀like <the> vinegar
kachometzH2558 →
לַשִּׁנַּ֗יִםto the teeth
lashinayimH8127 →55 times
וְכֶעָשָׁ֥ןand like <the> smoke
vekheashanH6227 →
לָעֵינָ֑יִםto the eyes
laeinayimH5869 →887 times
כֵּ֥ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
הֶ֝עָצֵ֗לthe sluggard
heatzelH6102 →14 times
לְשֹׁלְחָֽיו׃to [those who] send him
lesholechavH7971 →845 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 25:13Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.
it leads to
- Proverbs 13:17
A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 13:17
Through
Isaiah 65:5They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
it leads to
- Luke 18:9–12
To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:
- Luke 7:39
When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching Him—for she…
- Proverbs 16:5
Everyone who is proud in heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured that he will not go unpunished.
- Luke 18:9–12
Through
Proverbs 25:20Like one who removes a garment on a cold day or vinegar poured on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
it leads to
- Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
- Ecclesiastes 3:4
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
- Romans 12:15
Through
Matthew 25:26‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.
it leads to
- Matthew 18:32
Then the master summoned him and declared, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your debt because you begged me.
- Matthew 18:32
Through
Proverbs 26:6Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.
it leads to
- Proverbs 25:13
Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.
- Proverbs 25:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.