- English translation
If you are patient, you will gain; if not, you will be buried—and God’s decree takes effect either way.
- Literal wording
If you are patient, you gain, and God’s decree takes effect; if you are not patient, you are buried, and God’s decree takes effect.
- Meaning and lesson
It says that patience is preferable when events are governed by God’s decree. Whether a person accepts the situation patiently or resists it, the decree will still take effect.
The contrast between gaining and being buried heightens the warning: impatience does not alter what has been decreed, while patience is presented as the better response.
- When it is used
It is used to urge patience and acceptance when facing something understood as God’s decree, rather than futile resistance.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: If you are patient, you will gain; if not, you will be buried—and God’s decree takes effect either way.