Proverbs 26:8
in Proverbs 26Like binding a stone into a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As one that bindeth a stone in a sling, So is he that giveth honor to a fool.
KJV
As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honour to a fool.
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This verse in Proverbs 26
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAs he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honor to a fool - It is entirely thrown away. This, however, is a difficult proverb; and the versions give but little light on the subject. The Hebrew may be translated, “As a piece of precious stone among a heap of stones, so is he that giveth honor to a fool.” Or, As he that putteth a precious stone in a heap of stones.
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 Medieval Church1 voice
As he who casts a stone into the heap of Mercury, etc. He who grants the honor of teaching to the foolish, that is, to the heretic, sins no less than he who worships the gods and idols of the pagans in vain.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
As he that bindeth a stone in a sling,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
i. e., “To give honor to the fool is like binding a stone in a sling; you cannot throw it.” In each case you misapply and so waste. Others render in the sense of the margin: To use a precious stone where a pebble would be sufficient, is not less foolish than to give honor to a fool.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּצְר֣וֹר | kitzror | as ties | H6887 → | |
| אֶ֭בֶן | ʾeven | a stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| בְּמַרְגֵּמָ֑ה | bemargemah | in a sling | H4773 → | |
| כֵּן־ | ken- | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| נוֹתֵ֖ן | noten | [one who] gives | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִכְסִ֣יל | likhsil | to a fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
| כָּבֽוֹד׃ | kavod | honor | H3519 → | 200 times |
כִּצְר֣וֹרas ties
kitzrorH6887 →
אֶ֭בֶןa stone
ʾevenH68 →273 times
בְּמַרְגֵּמָ֑הin a sling
bemargemahH4773 →
כֵּן־so
ken-H3651 →771 times
נוֹתֵ֖ן[one who] gives
notenH5414 →2011 times
לִכְסִ֣ילto a fool
likhsilH3684 →70 times
כָּבֽוֹד׃honor
kavodH3519 →200 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 26:1Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor does not befit a fool.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:10
Luxury is unseemly for a fool—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 28:16
A leader who lacks judgment is also a great oppressor, but he who hates dishonest profit will prolong his days.
- Psalms 15:4
who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,
- Esther 4:6
So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the king’s gate,
- Proverbs 19:10
Through
Proverbs 19:10Luxury is unseemly for a fool—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
it leads to
- Proverbs 30:21–22
Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:
- Proverbs 26:1
Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor does not befit a fool.
- Luke 16:23
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
- Proverbs 30:21–22
Through
Proverbs 30:22a servant who becomes king, a fool who is filled with food,
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 10:7
I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.
- Ecclesiastes 10:7
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).