The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
Like uneven legs that cannot work together, a wise saying in the mouth of a fool is ill-fitted, unsound and ineffective, and an argument limps when its two parts do not match. An illustration must therefore be handled with taste and judgment, for it takes nearly as much wisdom to understand a parable as to make one, and when misapplied or left unexplained it misleads as readily as it guides. For that reason weighty teachings should rest on clear and direct statements rather than chiefly on figurative or parabolic passages. The saying exposes all uneven reasoning, as when lofty claims about the Sabbath and Sunday contradict each other, when Sunday observance is called only a civil rule yet breaking it is called breaking God's law, and when the same act is made a crime in one place and lawful in another.
Meaning and Background
The uneven legs of a lame person do not match and cannot work together consistently, and in the same way a proverbial saying or illustration in the mouth of a fool is badly fitted, defective, unsound, out of joint and ineffective. An argument is lame when its two parts do not correspond, just as the two clauses of the comparison show a fool's saying to be as uneven as a lame person's legs. The image exposes inconsistent reasoning that speaks loftily about resurrection while denying that death exists, making departure from the Bible's teaching on resurrection a form of spiritual lameness. It likewise exposes reasoning that affirms certainty that Sunday is the first day of the week while questioning whether Saturday is the seventh, and reasoning that claims the roundness of the earth makes a fixed Sabbath day impossible yet argues that Christians can observe Sunday. It also marks as unequal Sunday laws that make the same conduct a crime in one place and lawful in another, and the Sunday system itself as a limping figure whose advocates call Sunday observance merely a state police regulation while also claiming that working on Sunday violates God's law, even though they acknowledge that God's law gives no command about Sunday.
As a proverb, the saying is brief and expresses a familiar truth, often by comparison. It belongs to Proverbs 25-29, drawn from Solomon's writings that were copied out by men appointed by Hezekiah. Hezekiah lived about three hundred years after Solomon.
Using Parables Wisely
A parable or illustration in the mouth of a fool is badly fitted and ineffective, like the unequal legs of a lame person. For that reason an illustration must be applied with taste and judgment, since when it is misapplied it gives a wrong impression and frustrates the truth.
Constructing a parable takes great skill, and understanding one takes nearly as much wisdom as creating it, so without explanation it can mislead as readily as it can guide. Even Christ's parables could leave listeners without understanding, which is why he explained their meaning privately to his disciples. Because parables can be ambiguous in this way, important doctrines need clear, explicit support rather than relying chiefly on figurative or parabolic passages.
Exposing Unequal Reasoning
The verse exposes uneven reasoning that narrows the Greek preposition eis to mean only toward unless repeated, for the same unrepeated preposition describes swine actually running into the sea, so the argument is as uneven as a lame person's legs, with even its first clause sufficing to show the defect. It exposes the inconsistency of speaking loftily about resurrection while denying that death exists, for departing from the Bible's teaching on resurrection is a form of spiritual lameness that makes teaching uneven and ineffective like the legs of the lame. It describes as uneven and absurd the theory that people are citizens of the new kingdom before they repent, are baptized, or separate themselves from their generation, even though those acts are presented as laws for the kingdom's citizens to obey.
The verse describes contradictory claims about the Sabbath as unequal and inconsistent, like the legs of a lame person. It applies to reasoning that readily claims certainty that Sunday is the first day of the week while questioning whether Saturday is the seventh day, for such reasoning is unequal like the legs of the lame. It applies to reasoning that says the roundness of the earth makes a fixed Sabbath day impossible yet argues that Christians can observe Sunday, since the comparison is out of joint and does not fit or work consistently.
The verse pictures the Sunday system as a limping figure, inconsistent and defective, because its advocates call Sunday observance merely a state police regulation while also claiming that working on Sunday violates God's law, even though they acknowledge that the law of God gives no command about Sunday. Its image also applies to unequal Sunday laws, which are defective and unusable because they make the same conduct a crime in one place and lawful in another, just as a lame person's legs are unequal and a fool's parable is unsound. It shows that reasoning limps when it compares a law forbidding liquor-selling only on Sunday to condemning a murderer to death, because an argument is lame when its two parts do not match, and murder is wrong every day while forbidding liquor-selling only on Sunday admits the traffic is proper on other days.
Like uneven legs that cannot work together, a wise saying in the mouth of a fool is ill-fitted, unsound and ineffective, and an argument limps when its two parts do not match. An illustration must therefore be handled with taste and judgment, for it takes nearly as much wisdom to understand a parable as to make one, and when misapplied or left unexplained it misleads as readily as it guides. For that reason weighty teachings should rest on clear and direct statements rather than chiefly on figurative or parabolic passages. The saying exposes all uneven reasoning, as when lofty claims about the Sabbath and Sunday contradict each other, when Sunday observance is called only a civil rule yet breaking it is called breaking God's law, and when the same act is made a crime in one place and lawful in another.
Meaning and Background
The uneven legs of a lame person do not match and cannot work together consistently, and in the same way a proverbial saying or illustration in the mouth of a fool is badly fitted, defective, unsound, out of joint and ineffective. An argument is lame when its two parts do not correspond, just as the two clauses of the comparison show a fool's saying to be as uneven as a lame person's legs. The image exposes inconsistent reasoning that speaks loftily about resurrection while denying that death exists, making departure from the Bible's teaching on resurrection a form of spiritual lameness. It likewise exposes reasoning that affirms certainty that Sunday is the first day of the week while questioning whether Saturday is the seventh, and reasoning that claims the roundness of the earth makes a fixed Sabbath day impossible yet argues that Christians can observe Sunday. It also marks as unequal Sunday laws that make the same conduct a crime in one place and lawful in another, and the Sunday system itself as a limping figure whose advocates call Sunday observance merely a state police regulation while also claiming that working on Sunday violates God's law, even though they acknowledge that God's law gives no command about Sunday.
As a proverb, the saying is brief and expresses a familiar truth, often by comparison. It belongs to Proverbs 25-29, drawn from Solomon's writings that were copied out by men appointed by Hezekiah. Hezekiah lived about three hundred years after Solomon.
Using Parables Wisely
A parable or illustration in the mouth of a fool is badly fitted and ineffective, like the unequal legs of a lame person. For that reason an illustration must be applied with taste and judgment, since when it is misapplied it gives a wrong impression and frustrates the truth.
Constructing a parable takes great skill, and understanding one takes nearly as much wisdom as creating it, so without explanation it can mislead as readily as it can guide. Even Christ's parables could leave listeners without understanding, which is why he explained their meaning privately to his disciples. Because parables can be ambiguous in this way, important doctrines need clear, explicit support rather than relying chiefly on figurative or parabolic passages.
Exposing Unequal Reasoning
The verse exposes uneven reasoning that narrows the Greek preposition eis to mean only toward unless repeated, for the same unrepeated preposition describes swine actually running into the sea, so the argument is as uneven as a lame person's legs, with even its first clause sufficing to show the defect. It exposes the inconsistency of speaking loftily about resurrection while denying that death exists, for departing from the Bible's teaching on resurrection is a form of spiritual lameness that makes teaching uneven and ineffective like the legs of the lame. It describes as uneven and absurd the theory that people are citizens of the new kingdom before they repent, are baptized, or separate themselves from their generation, even though those acts are presented as laws for the kingdom's citizens to obey.
The verse describes contradictory claims about the Sabbath as unequal and inconsistent, like the legs of a lame person. It applies to reasoning that readily claims certainty that Sunday is the first day of the week while questioning whether Saturday is the seventh day, for such reasoning is unequal like the legs of the lame. It applies to reasoning that says the roundness of the earth makes a fixed Sabbath day impossible yet argues that Christians can observe Sunday, since the comparison is out of joint and does not fit or work consistently.
The verse pictures the Sunday system as a limping figure, inconsistent and defective, because its advocates call Sunday observance merely a state police regulation while also claiming that working on Sunday violates God's law, even though they acknowledge that the law of God gives no command about Sunday. Its image also applies to unequal Sunday laws, which are defective and unusable because they make the same conduct a crime in one place and lawful in another, just as a lame person's legs are unequal and a fool's parable is unsound. It shows that reasoning limps when it compares a law forbidding liquor-selling only on Sunday to condemning a murderer to death, because an argument is lame when its two parts do not match, and murder is wrong every day while forbidding liquor-selling only on Sunday admits the traffic is proper on other days.