Proverbs 25:15

Through patience ¹  a ruler can be persuaded, ²  and a soft tongue ³  can break a bone. ⁴ 

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue breaks the bone.

Patience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can crush strong opposition.

Patient persistence pierces through indifference; gentle speech breaks down rigid defenses.

A judge is moved by one who for a long time undergoes wrongs without protest, and by a soft tongue even bone is broken.

With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue can break bones.

By long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, And a gentle tongue breaks a bone.

Through patience ¹  a ruler can be persuaded, ²  and a soft tongue ³  can break a bone. ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “long of anger” or “forbearance” (so NASB).

² tn The two imperfect verbs in this line may be nuanced as potential imperfects because what is described could happen, but does not do so as a rule.

³ tn The “tongue” is a metonymy of cause; and so the expression here refers to soft or gentle speech. This fits well with the parallel idea of patience (“long of anger”) – through a calm patient persuasion much can be accomplished. Some English versions relate this figure directly to the persuasion of a ruler in the previous line (cf. TEV “can even convince rulers”).

⁴ sn The idea of breaking a bone uses the hardest and most firm part of the body in contrast to the “softness of the tongue.” Both are figurative, forming a comparison. A gentle speech can break down any stiff opposition.