Verses 3-4 share the same form: “C is worse than either A or B.”

“A stone is heavy and sand is weighty”: This line may also be expressed as “The weight of stones and the heaviness of sand,” because it is the quality of heaviness that is compared in the next line and not the materials “stone” and “sand”. See Good News Translation.

“But a fool’s provocation is heavier than both”: For “fool” see 1.7. “Provocation” refers to irritation or trouble, and here it is the irritation or trouble that the fool’s behavior causes. It is rendered in some languages “When a fool makes trouble. . ..” “Heavier” translates the same root used in line 1. If it is not possible to speak of the trouble caused by the fool as being heavy, it may be possible to say, for example, “but the trouble made by a fool is more of a burden than stone and sand.” In one translation the verse is rendered “The silly behavior of a fool gives us great trouble, which is bigger than the weight of a big rock or a heap of sand.”

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 .