Proverbs 26:17
in Proverbs 26Like one who grabs a dog by the ears is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that passeth by, and vexeth himself with strife belonging not to him, Is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
KJV
He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
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This verse in Proverbs 26
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAs he who takes a dog by the ears, etc. The Apostle says, Do not strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers (II Tim. II). Therefore, whoever is simple-minded, and if the ear of one of the two who are …
This site's exposition
Like one who grabs a dog by the ears
on Proverbs 26:17-22
A passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own has grabbed a dog by the ears, safe neither holding on nor letting go. The man who deceives his neighbor and calls it a joke is a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows. Strife dies when no one feeds it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
meddleth--as in Pr 20:19; 24:21; as either holding a dog by the ears or letting him go involves danger, so success in another man's strife or failure involves a useless risk of reputation, does no good, and may do us harm. Such are reckless of results.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
He that passeth by - This proverb stands true ninety-nine times out of a hundred, where people meddle with domestic broils, or differences between men and their wives.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
one who grabs a dog by its ears One who passes by and becomes embroiled in a quarrel that is not his is like one who grabs a dog by his ears, who causes him to bite him for no reason.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַחֲזִ֥יק | machazik | [one who] takes hold | H2388 → | 291 times |
| בְּאָזְנֵי־ | beazenei- | on [the] ears of | H241 → | 187 times |
| כָ֑לֶב | khalev | a dog | H3611 → | |
| עֹבֵ֥ר | ʾover | a passer by | H5674 → | 556 times |
| מִ֝תְעַבֵּ֗ר | mitaber | [who] becomes angry | H5674 → | 556 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רִ֥יב | riv | a dispute | H7379 → | 61 times |
| לֹּֽא־ | lo'- | [which] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| לֽוֹ׃ | lo | [belongs] to him |
מַחֲזִ֥יק[one who] takes hold
machazikH2388 →291 times
בְּאָזְנֵי־on [the] ears of
beazenei-H241 →187 times
כָ֑לֶבa dog
khalevH3611 →
עֹבֵ֥רa passer by
ʾoverH5674 →556 times
מִ֝תְעַבֵּ֗ר[who] becomes angry
mitaberH5674 →556 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רִ֥יבa dispute
rivH7379 →61 times
לֹּֽא־[which] not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
לֽוֹ׃[belongs] to him
lo
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 20:3It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute, but any fool will quarrel.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:32
He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.
- Proverbs 17:14
To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.
- Proverbs 19:11
A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.
- Proverbs 18:6
A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
- Proverbs 14:29
A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.
- Proverbs 16:32
Through
Luke 12:14But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?”
it leads to
- Romans 2:3
So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
- Romans 9:20
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
- Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
- Romans 2:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).