Proverbs 26:10

Like an archer who wounds at random, ¹  so is the one who hires ²  a fool or hires any passer-by.

Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or any passer-by.

Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by.

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

Hire a fool or a drunk and you shoot yourself in the foot.

Like an archer wounding all who go by, is a foolish man overcome by drink.

Like an archer who wounds everybody is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.

The great God who formed everything Gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages.

Like an archer who wounds at random, ¹  so is the one who hires ²  a fool or hires any passer-by.

¹ tn Heb “who wounds everyone” (so NASB). A similar rendering is given by ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, and NLT; it is the only one that makes sense out of a verse that most commentators consider hopelessly corrupt. That is not to say it is the correct rendering, only that it makes sense as a required negative statement in a proverb. The first line has רַב מְחוֹלֵל־כֹּל (rav mÿkholel-col). The first word, רַב (rav), can mean “archer,” “ master,” or “much.” The verb מְחוֹלֵל (mÿkholel) can mean “to wound” or “to bring forth.” The possibilities are: “a master performs [or, produces] all,” “a master injures all,” “an archer wounds all,” or “much produces all.” The line probably should be stating something negative, so the idea of an archer injuring or wounding people [at random] is preferable. An undisciplined hireling will have the same effect as an archer shooting at anything and everything (cf. NLT “an archer who shoots recklessly”).

² tn The participle שֹׂכֵר (shokher) is rendered here according to its normal meaning “hires” or “pays wages to.” Other suggestions include “one who rewards a fool” (derived from the idea of wages) and “one who stops a fool” (from a similar word).