10:26

This verse uses two similes to describe the irritating effect of a lazy person on those who send him on an errand.

26a Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

26b so is the slacker to those who send him.

10:26a–b

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the slacker to those who send him: The similarity of vinegar, smoke, and a slacker is that all three cause irritation. The vinegar irritates the mouth by making a person’s teeth feel rough or furry. The smoke irritates the eyes. In the same way, a slacker or lazy person irritates each person who sends him on an errand or assigns to him a task.

You may translate this simile in a number of different ways. Be sure to use natural expressions for the way that vinegar affects a person’s teeth and the way that smoke affects a person’s eyes.

• If people in your language area do not easily understand the similarity, you may need to make it explicit. For example:

Never get a lazy person to do something for you; he will be as irritating as vinegar on your teeth or smoke in your eyes. (Good News Translation)

Notice that the Good News Translation also rewords the proverb as a negative command and changes the order of the lines.

• Change the order of the lines. For example:

A lazy person affects the one he works for like vinegar on the teeth or smoke in the eyes. (New Century Version)

• Divide the two lines into two separate sentences. For example:

Lazy people are irritating to their employer. They are like vinegar that sets the teeth on edge or like smoke in the eyes.

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