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the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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New Living Translation

Proverbs 26:10

An employer who hires a fool or a bystander is like an archer who shoots at random.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Fool;   God;   Wicked (People);   The Topic Concordance - Creation;   Foolishness;   Greatness;   Transgression;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Creation;   Fools;  

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greek Versions of Ot;   Proverbs, Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Form;   Games;   Great;   Providence;  

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
Like an archer who wounds everyone,So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The mightie that fourmed al thinges, rewardeth the fooles & transgressours.
Darby Translation
A master roughly worketh every one: he both hireth the fool and hireth passers-by.
New King James Version
The great God who formed everythingGives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages. [fn]
Literal Translation
Great is the Former of all things, but he who hires a fool is like one who hires those passing by.
Easy-to-Read Version
Hiring a fool or a stranger who is just passing by is dangerous—you don't know who might get hurt.
World English Bible
As an archer who wounds all, So is he who hires a fool Or he who hires those who pass by.
King James Version (1611)
The great God that formed all things, both rewardeth the foole, and rewardeth transgressours.
King James Version
The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A man of experience discerneth all thinges well, but whoso hyreth a foole, hyreth soch one as wyl take no hede.
THE MESSAGE
Hire a fool or a drunk and you shoot yourself in the foot.
Amplified Bible
Like a [careless] archer who [shoots arrows wildly and] wounds everyone, So is he who hires a fool or those who [by chance just] pass by.
American Standard Version
As an archer that woundeth all, So is he that hireth a fool and he that hireth them that pass by.
Bible in Basic English
Like an archer wounding all who go by, is a foolish man overcome by drink.
Update Bible Version
[As] an archer that wounds all, So is he that hires a fool and he that hires those that pass by.
Webster's Bible Translation
The great [God] that formed all [things] both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
New English Translation
Like an archer who wounds at random, so is the one who hires a fool or hires any passer-by.
Contemporary English Version
It's no smarter to shoot arrows at every passerby than it is to hire a bunch of worthless nobodies.
Complete Jewish Bible
A master can make anything, but hiring a fool is like hiring some passer-by.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The excellent that formed all things, both rewardeth the foole & rewardeth the transgressers.
George Lamsa Translation
The body of a fool is greatly afflicted, and a drunkard thinks that he can cross a sea.
Hebrew Names Version
As an archer who wounds all, So is he who hires a fool Or he who hires those who pass by.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
A master performeth all things; but he that stoppeth a fool is as one that stoppeth a flood.
New Life Bible
He who hires a fool or hires those who pass by is like a man who uses a bow to hurt everyone.
English Revised Version
As an archer that woundeth all, so is he that hireth the fool and he that hireth them that pass by.
Berean Standard Bible
Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or passer-by.
New Revised Standard
Like an archer who wounds everybody is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
As an archer who woundeth every thing, so one who hireth a dullard, and a drunkard crossing the sea.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Judgment determineth causes: and he that putteth a fool to silence, appeaseth anger.
Lexham English Bible
Like an archer who wounds everyone, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires passersby.
English Standard Version
Like an archer who wounds everyone is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
New American Standard Bible
Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is one who hires a fool or hires those who pass by.
New Century Version
Hiring a foolish person or anyone just passing by is like an archer shooting at just anything.
Good News Translation
An employer who hires any fool that comes along is only hurting everybody concerned.
Christian Standard Bible®
The one who hires a fool or who hires those passing by is like an archer who wounds everyone.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Doom determyneth causis; and he that settith silence to a fool, swagith iris.
Revised Standard Version
Like an archer who wounds everybody is he who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
Young's Literal Translation
Great [is] the Former of all, And He is rewarding a fool, And is rewarding transgressors.

Contextual Overview

10 An employer who hires a fool or a bystander is like an archer who shoots at random.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

The great: etc. or, A great man grieveth all; and he hireth the fool, he hireth also the transgressors.

both: Proverbs 11:31, Romans 2:6

Cross-References

Genesis 26:9
Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, "She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister'?" "Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me," Isaac replied.
Genesis 26:10
"How could you do this to us?" Abimelech exclaimed. "One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin."
Genesis 26:18
He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham's death. Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them.
Genesis 26:19
Isaac's servants also dug in the Gerar Valley and discovered a well of fresh water.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The great [God], that formed all [things],.... That made the heavens, earth, and sea, and all that are in them; who is great in the perfections of his nature, and in the works of his hands, and greatly to be praised;

both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors; according to their works; every transgression of the law receiving its just recompence of reward, whether a man transgresses it ignorantly or wilfully; as his transgressions are, whether through error or presumption, so shall his punishment be; though some understand this, as Kimchi, of the Lord's doing good in a providential way, to the wise and unwise, the righteous and the wicked: the words are by some rendered to another sense, "a great one grieveth all, and he hireth the fool, and he hireth the transgressors" y; that is, a great man, a tyrannical prince, grieves all his good subjects; or, as Hottinger z, from the use of the word in the Arabic tongue, changes all things, inverts their order, or administers all at his will, that is, wrongly; when he hires fools and wicked men to do those bad things for him which others would not, to the great detriment of the commonwealth; and rewards them for it, putting them into posts of honour and trust, to the great grief and trouble of all his best subjects.

y So Mercerus, Piscator. z Smegm. Oriental. l. 1. c. 2. p. 171.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The word “God” is not in the original, and the adjective translated “great” is never used elsewhere absolutely in that sense. The simplest and best interpretation is: As the archer that woundeth everyone, so is he who hireth the fool, and he who hireth every passerby. Acting at random, entrusting matters of grave moment to men of bad repute, is as likely to do mischief as to shoot arrows at everyone.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 26:10. The great God that formed all things] See the margin, where this verse is very differently translated. I shall add that of Coverdale: "A man of experience discerneth all thinges well: but whoso hyreth a foole, hyreth soch one as wyl take no hede." The רב rab may mean either the great God, or a great man: hence the two renderings, in the text and in the margin.


 
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