This saying is linked in meaning to verse 7.

“Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard”: A “thorn” is a sharp prickle of a thornbush or a bramble; however, interpreters are not agreed on the sense of this image. Is the drunk person trying to remove a thorn stuck in his hand? Or is he using a thorny instrument as a weapon? Good News Translation sees the drunk trying to pull out the thorn. Revised English Bible, Scott, and some others picture the drunk with a weapon. Revised English Bible says “Like a thorn-stick brandished by a drunkard.” Either this form or that of Good News Translation is possible.

“Is a proverb in the mouth of fools”: This line is identical with verse 7b.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .