Proverbs 26:3 (BSB)

A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!

From Proverbs 26. Also in the ESV.

Commentary on Proverbs 26:3

• Matthew Henry (Presbyterian), Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on Proverbs 26:3: Here, 1. Wicked men are compared to the horse and the ass, so brutish are they, so unreasonable, so unruly, and not to be governed but by force or fear, so low has sin sunk men, so much below themselves.
• John Gill (Reformed Baptist), Exposition of the Old and New Testaments on Proverbs 26:3: A whip for the horse,.... One that is dull of going, or refractory and wants breaking; a bridle for the ass; not to curb and restrain it from going too fist, asses being generally dull; but to direct its way and turn it when necessary, it being stiffnecked and obstinate; though the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it a "spear" or "goad", something to...
• Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (Reformed), Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible on Proverbs 26:3: The rod is as much needed by fools and as well suited to them, as whips and bridles are for beasts.
• Geneva Bible Notes (Reformed), Geneva Bible Study Notes on Proverbs 26:1-3: He that [hath] no rule over his own spirit [is like] a city [that is] broken down, [and] without walls. (q) And so is in extreme danger.