Proverbs 26:6
in Proverbs 26Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool Cutteth off his own feet, and drinketh in damage.
KJV
He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage.
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This verse in Proverbs 26
Commentary
5 notes on this verseCutteth off the feet - Sending by such a person is utterly useless. My old MS. Bible translates well: Halt in feet and drinking wickednesse that sendith wordis bi a foole messager. Nothing but lameness in himself can vindicate his sending it by such hands; and, after all, the expedient will be worse than the total omission, for he is likely to drink wickedness, i.e., the mischief occasioned by the fool’s misconduct. Coverdale nearly hits the sense as usual: “He is lame of his fete, yee dronken is he in vanite, that committeth eny thinge to a foole.”
This site's exposition
sendeth a message by the hand of a fool
on Proverbs 26:6-10
The middle proverbs price the fool's involvement in serious business: entrust him with a message and you have cut off your own feet, honour him and you have bound the stone into the sling, where by the plain figure the stone you meant to throw stays fastened to you. A parable in the mouth of fools twice over, hanging useless as a lame man's legs, piercing the hand like the drunkard's thorn: even true words are dangerous carried by the wrong man. Verse 10's Hebrew is notoriously difficult and the versions divide; the King James gives the great God rewarding fool and transgressor alike, and the bench states the alternatives without forcing one.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool,....
Nay, he will drink damage; it will be very much to his prejudice to have employed such a one, who, instead of bringing him a good account of his affairs, will abuse him and put a trick upon him; for, in Solomon's language, a knave and a fool are of the same signification.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Cutteth off the feet - Mutilates him, spoils the work which the messenger ought to fulfill. Drinketh damage - i. e., “has to drink full draughts of shame and loss” (compare Job 15:16).
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מְקַצֶּ֣ה | mekatzeh | [one who] cuts off | H7096 → | |
| רַ֭גְלַיִם | raglayim | feet | H7272 → | 247 times |
| חָמָ֣ס | chamas | violence | H2555 → | 60 times |
| שֹׁתֶ֑ה | shoteh | [one who] drinks | H8354 → | 217 times |
| שֹׁלֵ֖חַ | sholeach | [one who] sends | H7971 → | 845 times |
| דְּבָרִ֣ים | devarim | words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| בְּיַד־ | beyad- | by [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| כְּסִֽיל׃ | kesil | a fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
מְקַצֶּ֣ה[one who] cuts off
mekatzehH7096 →
רַ֭גְלַיִםfeet
raglayimH7272 →247 times
חָמָ֣סviolence
chamasH2555 →60 times
שֹׁתֶ֑ה[one who] drinks
shotehH8354 →217 times
שֹׁלֵ֖חַ[one who] sends
sholeachH7971 →845 times
דְּבָרִ֣יםwords
devarimH1697 →1440 times
בְּיַד־by [the] hand of
beyad-H3027 →1618 times
כְּסִֽיל׃a fool
kesilH3684 →70 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 13:17A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.
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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 33:7–8
As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me.
- Proverbs 25:13
Through
Numbers 13:31But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:28
Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw…
- Joshua 14:8
Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to the LORD my God.
- Hebrews 3:19
So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.
- Numbers 32:9
For when your fathers went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land that the LORD had given them.
- Deuteronomy 9:1
Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
- Deuteronomy 1:28
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.
- Proverbs 13:17
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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.