Proverbs 10:26

Like vinegar to the teeth and like smoke to the eyes, ¹  so is the sluggard to those ²  who send him.

Pr 25:13,20; Isa 65:5; Mt 25:26; Ro 12:11; Heb 6:12

¹ sn Two similes are used to portray the aggravation in sending a lazy person to accomplish a task. Vinegar to the teeth is an unpleasant, irritating experience; and smoke to the eyes is an unpleasant experience that hinders progress.

² tn The participle is plural, and so probably should be taken in a distributive sense: “to each one who sends him.”