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Parallel PROV 17:7

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

B I ◄ ← Prov 17:7 ↓ → ► ═ ©  

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Excellent lips wouldn’t be suitable for a fool,
 ⇔ ≈ and certainly deceptive lips don’t suit a ruler.OET logo mark

OET-LV Not is_suitable for_a_fool a_lip_of excellence indeed if/because for_a_noble_person a_lip_of deception.
OET logo mark

UHB לֹא־נָאוָ֣ה לְ⁠נָבָ֣ל שְׂפַת־יֶ֑תֶר אַ֝֗ף כִּֽי־לְ⁠נָדִ֥יב שְׂפַת־שָֽׁקֶר׃ ‡
   (loʼ-nāʼvāh lə⁠nāⱱāl səfat-yeter ʼaf kiy-lə⁠nādiyⱱ səfat-shāqer.)

Key: red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Οὐχ ἁρμόσει ἄφρονι χείλη πιστὰ, οὐδὲ δικαίῳ χείλη ψευδῆ.
   (Ouⱪ harmosei afroni ⱪeilaʸ pista, oude dikaiōi ⱪeilaʸ pseudaʸ. )

BrTr Faithful lips will not suit a fool; nor lying lips a just man.

ULT A lip of excess is not suitable for a worthless one;
 ⇔ how much less a lip of falsehood for a noble.

UST It is not fitting for worthless people to speak eloquently.
 ⇔ It is even less fitting for royal officials to speak falsely!

BSB Eloquent words are unfit for a fool;
 ⇔ how much worse are lying lips to a ruler!

MSB (Same as BSB above)

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE Excellent speech isn’t fitting for a fool,
 ⇔ much less do lying lips fit a prince.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Excessive speech is not becoming for a fool;
 ⇔ how much less are lies for a ruler!

LSV A lip of excellence is not fitting for a fool, much less a lip of falsehood for a noble.

FBV Fine words don't suit stupid people, how much less are lies suited to a ruler.

T4T  ⇔ Fine/Eloquent speech is not suitable for foolish people to say,
 ⇔ just like lies are not suitable for rulers to say.

LEB   • Fine speech[fn] is not becoming a fool, still less[fn] is false speech[fn] for a ruler.

17:? Literally “A lip of fineness”

17:? Literally “only for”

17:? Literally “lip of deceit”

BBE Fair words are not to be looked for from a foolish man, much less are false lips in a ruler.

Moff Talk about virtue is not for a churl;
 ⇔ much less are lies for a noble soul!

JPS Overbearing speech becometh not a churl; much less do lying lips a prince.

ASV Excellent speech becometh not a fool;
 ⇔ Much less do lying lips a prince.

DRA Eloquent words do not become a fool, nor lying lips a prince.

YLT Not comely for a fool is a lip of excellency, Much less for a noble a lip of falsehood.

Drby Excellent speech becometh not a vile [man]; how much less do lying lips a noble!

RV Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.
   (Excellent speech becometh/becomes not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince. )

SLT The lip of excellence is not becoming to, the foolish one: much less the lip of falsehood to the noble one.

Wbstr Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.

KJB-1769 Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.[fn][fn]
   (Excellent speech becometh/becomes not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince. )

17.7 Excellent…: Heb. A lip of excellency

17.7 lying…: Heb. a lip of lying

KJB-1611 [fn][fn]Excellent speech becommeth not a foole: much lesse doe lying lippes a prince.
   (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

17:7 Heb. a lip of excellency.

17:7 Heb. a lip of lying.

Bshps Speache of aucthoritie becommeth not a foole, much lesse a lying mouth then beseemeth a prince.
   (Speache of authority becometh/becomes not a fool, much less a lying mouth then beseemeth a prince.)

Gnva Hie talke becommeth not a foole, much lesse a lying talke a prince.
   (Hie talk becometh/becomes not a fool, much less a lying talk a prince. )

Cvdl An eloquent speach becometh not a foole, a dyssemblinge mouth also besemeth not a prynce.
   (An eloquent speech becometh/becomes not a fool, a dyssemblinge mouth also besemeth not a prince.)

Wycl Wordis wel set togidere bisemen not a fool; and a liynge lippe bicometh not a prince.
   (Wordis well set together bisemen not a fool; and a liing lip becometh/becomes not a prince.)

Luth Es stehet einem Narren nicht wohl an, von hohen Dingen reden, viel weniger einem Fürsten, daß er gerne lüget.
   (It stands on fool(n) not probably/well an, from high/tall things talk, many fewer on prince(s)/ruler(s), that he gladly/willingly lies(v).)

ClVg Non decent stultum verba composita, nec principem labium mentiens.
   (Not/No decent stupidity words composita, but_not prince labium mentiens. )

HAP Hebrew accents and phrasing: See Allan Johnson's Hebrew accents and phrasing analysis.
SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs. It has a very different structure from the longer poetic lectures of chapters 1–9. It consists mostly of individual couplets (two-line poems) that are each one verse in length. With the exception of the title (10:1a), paragraph breaks will not be indicated in the Notes or Display. You may of course choose to start each proverb as a separate paragraph in your translation.

In chapters 10–15, most of these one-verse couplets express a contrast between the two lines. One of the more common contrasts is between the righteous/wise and the wicked/foolish and the different consequences of their conduct.

In chapters 16:1–22:16, more topics are discussed. There is more emphasis on the role of the king and other leaders. In these chapters, there are few proverbs with contrasting lines. Some of the parallel lines are similar in meaning. More frequently, the second line adds to what the first line says or gives an example. Most of the verses have no obvious connection with the previous or following proverbs.UBS (page 214), Fox (page 509), McKane (page 413). Many scholars, including McKane, point out that there are some topical groupings as well as poetic connections. These include the repetition of certain words or sounds. This observation does not deny the individual nature of most of the proverbs in this Section.

Two of the types of proverbs in this section are not found in chapters 1–9. One type contains logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. See 11:31 for a list of these proverbs. There are also several varieties of complex “better than” proverbs. The most common have a contrasting situation in each line (see 12:9). For other varieties, see 16:16, 19:1, and 21:9.

Many of the proverbs in this section refer to categories of people who share a common trait. For example, they refer to the righteous, the wise, the poor, and the lazy. In Hebrew, some verses use singular forms to refer to these groups of people. Other verses use plural forms. Still others use a combination of singular and plural. See the note on 10:30a–b for one example. For most of these verses, the Notes will not comment on the difference between singular and plural forms. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.

Many of the proverbs in this section express a general principle in abstract terms. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. For example, 10:2a–b says:

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,

but righteousness delivers from death.

However, the author intended his readers to understand these proverbs as advice that they should follow. In some languages, authors or speakers give advice more directly, using pronouns such as you(sing), you(plur), we(dual), or we(incl). See the note on 10:2 for translation suggestions.

Some other headings for this section are:

Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

The Wise Words of Solomon (NCV)

Here are many wise things that Solomon said

17:7

Notice the parallelism:

7aEloquent words are unfit for a fool;

7bhow much worse are lying lips to a ruler!

This is another example of logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. (See 11:31 for a list of other examples in Proverbs.) The reasoning is: The situation in 17:7a is inappropriate. The situation in 17:7b is even more inappropriate.

17:7a

Eloquent words are unfit for a fool;

Eloquent words are unfit for a fool: In Hebrew, the word Eloquent is literally “excessive.” There are two ways to interpret the word in this context:The NET translates this word literally as “excessive.” Other English versions follow one or the other of the two interpretations.

  1. This word refers to excellent, fine-sounding speech. For example:

    Fine talk is out of place in a boor (REB)

    Eloquent words are not fitting for a fool (NLT) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NAB, NASB, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, REB, GNT)

  2. This refers to arrogant speech. For example:

    Arrogant lips are unsuited to a fool (NIV) (NCV, NIV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars. Fools are frequently described as arrogant in Proverbs, so arrogant speech would normally be fitting for a fool. By contrast, people do not expect a fool to speak eloquently, so eloquent speech would seem inappropriate for a fool.

are unfit: The phrase that the BSB translates as are unfit means “unsuitable,” “inappropriate,” or “out of character.”

for a fool: The Hebrew word nabal, which the BSB translates here as fool, describes a person who is morally foolish. In addition, this kind of fool does not believe in God. He acts in a disgraceful way and has no proper sense of shame.

That may be why the REB translates this word as “boor” (see the quote above). In English, this word refers to someone with vulgar behavior. Another way to translate this word is:

godless fool (GW)

See fool 3 in the Glossary.

17:7b

how much worse are lying lips to a ruler!

how much worse are lying lips to a ruler: It is inappropriate for a godless fool to use fine-sounding words. So it is even more inappropriate for a ruler to tell lies. The word translated here as ruler refers to someone with high social status, probably someone with a high rank in the government. Some other ways to translate this line are:

but it’s even worse for a ruler to tell lies (CEV)

Lies are even less appropriate for a leader

For more information on ruler, see the note on 8:16b.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

לְ⁠נָבָ֣ל שְׂפַת־יֶ֑תֶר & לְ⁠נָדִ֥יב שְׂפַת־שָֽׁקֶר

for,a_fool language_of fine & for,a_noble_[person] language_of lying

A lip of excess, a worthless one, a lip of falsehood, and a noble represent these things and people in general, not specific things or people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Lips of excess … for worthless ones … lips of falsehood for noble ones”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

שְׂפַת־יֶ֑תֶר

language_of fine

The phrase lips of excess refers to excellent or eloquent speech that people say by moving their lips. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Fine speech” or “Speaking excellently”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

שְׂפַת־שָֽׁקֶר

language_of language_of lying

See how you translated the same use of “a lip of falsehood” in [10:18](../10/18.md).

B I ◄ ← Prov 17:7 ↑ → ► ═ ©