Proverbs 17:26-28

17:26 It is terrible ¹  to punish ²  a righteous person,

and to flog ³  honorable men is wrong. ⁴ 

17:27 The truly wise person ⁵  restrains ⁶  his words,

and the one who stays calm ⁷  is discerning.

17:28 Even a fool who remains silent is considered ⁸  wise,

and the one who holds his tongue is deemed discerning. ⁹ 

[17:26]  ¹ tn Heb “not good.” This is an example of tapeinosis – an understatement that implies the worst-case scenario: “it is terrible.”

[17:26]  ² tn The verb עָנַשׁ, here a Qal infinitive construct, properly means “to fine” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT) but is taken here to mean “to punish” in general. The infinitive functions as the subject of the clause.

[17:26]  ³ tn The form is the Hiphil infinitive construct from נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike; to smite”). It may well refer to public beatings, so “flog” is used in the translation, since “strike” could refer to an individual’s action and “beat” could be taken to refer to competition.

[17:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “[is] against uprightness.” The expression may be rendered “contrary to what is right.”

[17:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “the one knowing knowledge.” The cognate accusative underscores the meaning of the participle – this is a truly knowledgeable person.

[17:27]  ⁶ sn The participle חוֹשֵׂךְ (khosekh) means “withholds; restrains; refrains; spares; holds in check,” etc. One who has knowledge speaks carefully.

[17:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “cool of spirit.” This genitive of specification describes one who is “calm” (so NCV, TEV, CEV) or “even-tempered” (so NIV, NLT); he is composed.

[17:28]  ⁸ tn The imperfect tense here denotes possibility: One who holds his tongue [may be considered] discerning.

[17:28]  ⁹ tn The Niphal participle is used in the declarative/estimative sense with stative verbs: “to be discerning” (Qal) becomes “to be declared discerning” (Niphal). The proverb is teaching that silence is one evidence of wisdom, and that even a fool can thereby appear wise. D. Kidner says that a fool who takes this advice is no longer a complete fool (Proverbs [TOTC], 127). He does not, of course, become wise – he just hides his folly.