Proverbs 26:4-5
Legacy Standard Bible
4 (A)Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest you yourself also be like him.
5 (B)Answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest he be (C)wise in his own eyes.
Proverbs 26:4-5
New English Translation
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,[a]
lest you yourself also be like him.[b]
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,[c]
lest he be wise in his own opinion.[d]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 26:4 sn One should not answer a fool’s foolish questions in line with the fool’s mode of reasoning (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 274).
- Proverbs 26:4 sn The person who descends to the level of a fool to argue with him only looks like a fool as well.
- Proverbs 26:5 tc The editors of BHS suggest that the preposition in v. 5 should be ב (bet) which looks similar to the כ (kaf) in v. 4 but has a different meaning. The result would be that v. 4 says “do not answer a fool in conformity with his folly,” while the v. 5 might read “answer a fool in opposition to his folly.” In a practical sense this would mean that v. 4 speaks of not answering a fool at the level of his folly, perhaps thereby giving it validity, while v. 5 speaks of responding to a fool in opposition to his folly. Yet a similar meaning may be arrived at by maintaining כ (kaf) in each verse but reading different nuances based on the second half of each verse.sn The apparent contradiction with the last verse has troubled commentators for some time. One approach is to assume the different proverbs apply in different settings. The Rabbis solved it by saying that v. 4 referred to secular things, but v. 5 referred to sacred or religious controversies. Another view is to ignore the fool in negligible issues, but to deal with the fool in significant matters, lest credence be given to what he says (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 266). Another approach is that the two proverbs present principles that must be held in tension at the same time. The second half of each verse advises, by reference to outcome, what is fitting or unsuited in making a response. (See B. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs [NICOT], 348-350.) Also consider the example of Paul, who talked like a “fool” to correct the foolish ideas of the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:16-17; 12:11).
- Proverbs 26:5 tn Heb “in his own eyes” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
Proverbs 26:17
Legacy Standard Bible
17 Like one who seizes a dog by the ears
Is he who passes by and becomes passionate about (A)strife not belonging to him.
Proverbs 26:17
New English Translation
17 Like[a] one who grabs a wild dog by the ears,[b]
so is the person passing by who becomes furious[c] over a quarrel not his own.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 26:17 tn The comparative “like” and the following “so” are not in the Hebrew text, but supplied from context in the translation. The Hebrew is a metaphor with the predicate first, rendered here as a simile to preserve the order.
- Proverbs 26:17 tn Heb “grabs the ears of a dog. The word “wild” has been supplied in the translation to make clear that these were not domesticated pets. CEV, to accomplish the same point, has “a mad dog,” but there is no indication of that in context.sn Someone who did this ran a serious risk of injury or harm. Dogs were not domestic pets in the ancient Near East; they were scavengers that ran in packs like jackals.
- Proverbs 26:17 tn The word מִתְעַבֵּר (mitʿabber) means “to put oneself in a fury” or “become furious” (BDB 720 s.v.). The Latin version apparently assumed the verb was עָרַב (ʿarav), for it has the sense of “meddle” (so also NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, the MT reading could easily fit the verse, referring to anyone passing by who gets furious over a fight that is not his.sn Perhaps the passerby who intrudes (likely not knowing all the facts of the matter) will become the target of both parties’ displeasure.
Proverbs 26:20-21
Legacy Standard Bible
20 With no wood the fire goes out,
And where there is no (A)whisperer, (B)strife quiets down.
21 Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
So is a (C)contentious man to kindle strife.
Proverbs 26:20-21
New English Translation
20 Where there is no wood, a fire goes out,
and where there is no gossip,[a] contention ceases.[b]
21 Like charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,
so is a contentious person[c] to kindle strife.[d]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 26:20 sn Gossip (that is, the one who goes around whispering and slandering) fuels contention just as wood fuels a fire. The point of the proverb is to prevent contention—if one takes away the cause, contention will cease (e.g., 18:8).
- Proverbs 26:20 tn Heb “becomes silent.”
- Proverbs 26:21 sn Heb “a man of contentions”; NCV, NRSV, NLT “a quarrelsome person.” The expression focuses on the person who is contentious by nature. His quarreling is like piling fuel on a fire that would otherwise go out. This kind of person not only starts strife, but keeps it going.
- Proverbs 26:21 tn The Pilpel infinitive construct לְחַרְחַר (lekharkhar) from חָרַר (kharar, “to be hot; to be scorched; to burn”) means “to kindle; to cause to flare up.”
Proverbs 29:22
Legacy Standard Bible
22 An (A)angry man stirs up strife,
And a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.
Proverbs 29:22
New English Translation
22 An angry person[a] stirs up dissension,
and a wrathful person[b] is abounding in transgression.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 29:22 tn Heb “a man of anger.” Here “anger” is an attributive (“an angry man”). This expression describes one given to or characterized by anger, not merely temporarily angry. The same is true of the next description.
- Proverbs 29:22 tn Heb “possessor of wrath.” Here “wrath” is an attributive (cf. ASV “a wrathful man”; KJV “a furious man”).
- Proverbs 29:22 tn Heb “an abundance of transgression.” The phrase means “abounding in transgression” (BDB 913 s.v. רַב 1.d]). Not only does the angry person stir up dissension, but he also frequently causes sin in himself and in others (e.g., 14:17, 29; 15:18; 16:32; 22:24).
Proverbs 30:33
Legacy Standard Bible
33 For pressing milk brings forth butter,
And pressing the nose brings forth blood;
And pressing (A)anger brings forth strife.
Proverbs 30:33
New English Translation
33 For as the churning[a] of milk produces butter
and as punching the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger[b] produces strife.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:33 tn This line provides the explanation for the instruction to keep silent in the previous verse. It uses two images to make the point, and in so doing repeats two words throughout. The first is the word מִיץ (mits), which is translated (in sequence) “churning,” “punching,” and “stirring up.” The form is a noun, and BDB 568 s.v. suggests translating it as “squeezing” in all three places, even in the last where it describes the pressure or the insistence on strife. This noun occurs only here. The second repeated word, the verb יוֹצִיא (yotsiʾ), also occurs three times; it is the Hiphil imperfect, meaning “produces” (i.e., causes to go out).
- Proverbs 30:33 sn There is a subtle wordplay here with the word for anger: It is related to the word for nose in the preceding colon.
- Proverbs 30:33 sn The analogy indicates that continuously pressing certain things will yield results, some good, some bad. So pressing anger produces strife. The proverb advises people to strive for peace and harmony through humility and righteousness. To do that will require “letting up” on anger.
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