Home › Proverbs

God tempers the wind to the shorn sheep.

Meaning: Hardship diminishes in proportion to one's vulnerability, or mercy matches misfortune.

Origin: From 'A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases' (1870). Public domain.

Translations

  • French: A brebis tondue Dieu mesure le vent (literally: God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb)

More proverbs about Wisdom

  • Short and sweet like a donkey's gallop. — Brief moments of intensity fade quickly, so appreciate their value without expecting perm…
  • Every one can tame a shrew but he that hath her. — Only those outside a difficult relationship can judge or manage it; those within suffer i…
  • Few people are out of the reach of slander. — Most individuals lack sufficient obscurity or virtue to escape false accusations and mali…
  • Slander leaves a score behind it. — Spoken harm creates lasting damage that the victim carries long after the words fade.
  • One hour's sleep before midnight is worth two hours after. — Early sleep aligns with natural circadian rhythms, making pre-midnight rest more restorat…
  • There is sleeping enough in the grave. — Excessive rest now wastes precious living time that death will eventually steal forever.

← Back to Proverbs

Loading the full interactive collection…