Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
Commentary
Commentary
Delay can wound even when it does not destroy. The heart feels time in ways the calendar does not show.
What makes the proverb strong is its emotional realism. It grants that longing stretched too long becomes heavy, while still leaving room for fulfillment to restore what strain has taxed.
It endures because it tells the truth about waiting without emptying waiting of meaning.
Commentary
Commentary