the Second Week after Easter
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Revised Standard Version
Proverbs 1:17
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- InternationalParallel Translations
It is useless to spread a netwhere any bird can see it,
For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird:
Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird,
It is useless to spread out a net right where the birds can see it.
Surely it is futile to spread a net in plain sight of any bird,
Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;
Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;
For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird:
Certainely as without cause the net is spred before the eyes of all that hath wing:
For it is no use that a net is spreadIn the sight of any bird;
How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it.
They are like a bird that sees the bait, but ignores the trap.
For in vain is the net baited if any bird can see it;
For in vain the net is spread in the sight of anything which hath wings.
You cannot trap birds with a net if they see you spreading it out.
Surely in deceit is the net spread in the sight of any bird.
It does no good to spread a net when the bird you want to catch is watching,
for "in vain is the net scattered, in the sight of any winged bird."
For in vain the net is spread in the sight of every bird.
But in vayne is ye net layed forth before the byrdes eyes.
For in vain is the net spread In the sight of any bird:
Truly, to no purpose is the net stretched out before the eyes of the bird:
For in vain the net is spread in the eyes of any bird;
Surely in vaine the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
But [as] in vayne, the nette is layde foorth before the birdes eyes:
for nets are not without cause spread for birds.
For in vain is the net spread, in the eyes of any bird:
But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.
For in vain is the net spread In the sight of any bird:
Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird;
If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away.
Yes, the net is spread for nothing if the bird is watching.
For in vain is the net baited while the bird is looking on;
Surely, in vain, is spread the net, in the sight of aught that hath wings!
But a net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have wings.
Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird.
Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
in vain: Proverbs 7:23, Job 35:11, Isaiah 1:3, Jeremiah 8:7
sight of any bird: Heb. eyes of everything that hath a wing
Reciprocal: Proverbs 6:5 - as a bird Proverbs 6:6 - the ant Proverbs 12:12 - desireth Proverbs 29:5 - spreadeth Jeremiah 5:26 - lay wait 1 Timothy 6:9 - snare 2 Peter 3:17 - seeing
Cross-References
I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
"Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth! Thou whose glory above the heavens is chanted
When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established;
For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.'"
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. Or "without cause" y, as the word is rendered in Proverbs 1:11; and so the words are an illustration of the preceding; showing that the blood of innocent persons is shed without cause, no injury being done by them to those that do it, but is shed without any provocation at all; just as the net is spread for the innocent bird, which has done no harm to the fowler that seeks to take it; so Gersom: or else the sense is, that though the net is spread by the fowler even in the sight of the bird, yet it is in vain to the bird, though not to the fowler; it is so intent upon the corn that is spread about, that it takes no notice of the net, and so is caught in it; and thus it is with those men that are bent upon their sinful practices, upon theft and murder, though their ruin and destruction are before their eyes; and they daily see their companions in iniquity come to an untimely end; they know that they are liable to suffer death by the hand of the civil magistrate, and to be followed by the justice and vengeance of God, and suffer eternal punishment; yet take no warning hereby, but rush on to their own ruin, as follows.
y הנם "sine causa", Vatablus, Mercerus, Gejerus.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Strictly speaking, this is the first proverb (i. e., similitude) in the book; a proverb which has received a variety of interpretations. The true meaning seems to be as follows: “For in vain, to no purpose, is the net spread out openly. Clear as the warning is, it is in vain. The birds still fly in. The great net of God’s judgments is spread out, open to the eyes of all, and yet the doers of evil, willfully blind, still rush into it.” Others take the words as pointing to the failure of the plans of the evil-doers against the innocent (the “bird”): others, again, interpret the proverb of the young man who thinks that he at least shall not fall into the snares laid for him, and so goes blindly into them.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Proverbs 1:17. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. — This is a proverb of which the wise man here makes a particular use; and the meaning does not seem as difficult as some imagine. The wicked are represented as lurking privily for the innocent. It is in this way alone that they can hope to destroy them and take their substance; for if their designs were known, proper precautions would be taken against them; for it would be vain to spread the net in the sight of those birds which men wish to ensnare. Attend therefore to my counsels, and they shall never be able to ensnare thee.
