Verses 15-16 form a single saying.

“A continual dripping on a rainy day”: For “A continual dripping” see 19.13. “A rainy day” is a day on which it rains continually.

“And a contentious woman are alike”: For “a contentious woman” see 21.9, 19. This saying does not make clear what aspect of the “continual dripping” is to be compared to the ill-tempered or quarrelsome woman. Good News Translation “nagging” and “drip-drip-drip” suggest constant or repeated complaints. This is sometimes expressed as “she never closes her mouth.” In many languages it will be a good idea to reverse the order of the lines in this saying, as Good News Translation has done.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .