Proverbs 20:11

New English Translation

¹¹Even a young man^[a] is known^[b] by his actions,
whether his activity is pure and whether it is right.^[c]

Proverbs 20:11 sn In the first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs the Hebrew term נַעַר (naʿar) referred to an adolescent, a young person whose character was being formed in his early life.
Proverbs 20:11 sn The Hebrew verb נָכַר (nakhar) means “to recognize” more than simply “to know.” Certain character traits can be recognized in a child by what he does (cf. NCV “by their behavior”).
Proverbs 20:11 sn Character is demonstrated by actions at any age. But the emphasis of the book of Proverbs would also be that if the young child begins to show such actions, then the parents must try to foster and cultivate them; if not, they must try to develop them through teaching and discipline.

Proverbs 20:11

English Standard Version

¹¹Even a child ^(A)makes himself known by his acts,
by whether his conduct is pure and upright.^[a]

Proverbs 20:11 Or Even a child can dissemble in his actions, though his conduct seems pure and upright

²⁹The glory^[a] of young men is their strength,
and the splendor^[b] of old men is gray hair.^[c]

Proverbs 20:29 tn The Hebrew term תִּפְאֶרֶת (tifʾeret) means “beauty; glory”; in a context like this it means “honor” in the sense of glorying or boasting (BDB 802 s.v. 3.b).
Proverbs 20:29 tn The Hebrew term הֲדַר (hadar), the noun in construct, means “splendor; honor; ornament.” The latter sense is used here, since grey hair is like a crown on the head.
Proverbs 20:29 sn Gray hair is a metonymy of adjunct; it represents everything valuable about old age—dignity, wisdom, honor, experience, as well as worry and suffering of life. At the very least, since they survived, they must know something. At the most, they were the sages and elders of the people.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength,
but ^(A)the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

New English Translation (NET)

English Standard Version (ESV)