OET interlinear PROV 26:17

26:17–28

These verses all say something about people who damage their relationships with others in various ways.

26:17

The NRSV has been used as the source line, because it agrees with the textual recommendations. The textual issues will be discussed separately in 26:17a–b and 26:17b.

^17aLike somebody who takes a passing dog by the ears (NRSV)

^17bis one who meddles in the quarrel of another. (NRSV)

The topic of this proverb (26:17b) is a person who interferes in someone else’s quarrel. It compares him to someone who grabs a passing dog by the ears (26:17a). The similarity is that both actions are foolish and dangerous.

26:17a–b

(NRSV) Like somebody who takes a passing dog by the ears is one who meddles in the quarrel of another: There is a textual issue here. In Hebrew, the word for “passing/passer-by” can go with either of the poetic lines:In Hebrew, the word order is: “[one who] seizes the ears of a dog a passer-by [one who] meddles…” In the Masoretic Text, there is an accent mark that indicates a pause or break in reading the text after the word for dog.

1. Some scholars connect the word “passing” with “dog” in 26:17a. They do not follow the Masoretic accent mark that is described in option (2). For example:

   ^17aLike the man who seizes a passing dog by the ears

   ^17bis he who meddles in a quarrel not his own. (NAB) (ESV, NAB, NIV11, NJB, NRSV, REB)TN has listed the NJB and REB under option (1), because these versions do not connect a word such as “passing” with the meddler. They describe the dog as “a stray,” which is perhaps a more common term in English to describe a dog that passes by.

2. In the Masoretic Text, there is an accent mark, which indicates that the word “passer-by” refers to the person who “meddles.” For example:

   ^17aLike one who seizes a dog by the ears

   ^17bis a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own. (NIV) (BSB, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS, GNT)

3. The Septuagint (LXX) omits the word “passing.”The LXX also has “tail” instead of “ears.” English versions referred to in TN all have “ears.” For example:

   Interfering in someone else’s argument is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears. (NLT) (CEV, NLT)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) or (2).Scholars who recommend either option include Kidner, McKane, and the HOTTP. As McKane (page 252) points out, the difference in meaning is not significant. Whether the person or the dog is the “passer-by,” the point of the comparison is affected very little. Either way, the context implies that the dog does not belong to the person who seizes its ears. Nor does the person who meddles belong to the group that is arguing.

The Notes will follow option (1), along with a majority of scholars.Scholars who favor option (1) include Waltke, Fox, Hubbard, Whybray, Delitzsch, and Murphy. With this option, the length of the poetic lines is better balanced with three parallel pairs in each line.For further reasons that favor option (1), see Waltke (page 340, footnote 26).

26:17a

(NRSV) Like somebody who takes a passing dog by the ears: This line indicates that a person grabs or pulls the ears of a dog that is going past him. It is implied that this is a dog that the person does not own or know. It is foolish and dangerous to grab the ears of such a dog. Some other ways to translate this line are:

Like someone who seizes a stray cur by the ears (REB)

Like a person who foolishly pulls the ears of a strange/wild dog

The preceding two examples do not explicitly use a word such as passing. But both imply that the dog “passes by” within reach of the person.

26:17b

(NRSV) is one who meddles in a quarrel of another: There is a textual issue here that relates to the word meddles:

1. The Latin Vulgate and Syriac evidently assumed that the original Hebrew text had the word “mitʿareb.” This word means “meddles” or “interferes.” For example:

   Interfering in someone else’s quarrel (NCV) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, NAB, NASB, NCV, NIV, NJB, NLT, NRSV, REB, GNT)

2. The Masoretic Text has the word “mitʿabber”(with r and b in the opposite order). This word means “becomes furious” or “infuriates oneself.” For example:

   who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own (NET) (NET, NIV11, NJPS)The NIV11 has “who rushes into a quarrel not their own.” The NJPS has: “who gets embroiled in someone else’s quarrel.” Although these versions do not necessarily imply great anger, they have been listed here because they do imply more emotional involvement than a translation such as “meddles.”

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most English versions. The context of the parallel line clearly implies that the person joins in the quarrel. He does not simply become angry about it.

However, most scholars favor a word with a stronger meaning than the word meddles implies in English. If your language has a word or phrase that implies anger or emotional involvement in a quarrel, it would be appropriate to use it here.