18:13
In this proverb, the second line describes the action in the first line as “folly.” The result of this action is “disgrace.”
13a He who answers a matter before he hears it—
13b this is folly and disgrace to him.
The Berean Standard Bible uses a long dash to separate the two lines. Some other ways to express the relationship between the two lines are:
13a If one gives answer before hearing, 13b it is folly and shame. (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
13a To retort without first listening 13b is both foolish and embarrassing. (New Jerusalem Bible)
18:13a
He who answers a matter before he hears it: This line refers to a person who interrupts another person’s question or statement. He replies before he has listened carefully to the whole question. So he does not really understand what the other person is trying to say. Some other ways to translate this line are:
To answer a question before you have heard it out (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Anyone who answers without listening (New Century Version)
18:13b
this is folly and disgrace to him: In Hebrew, this clause is more literally “that is folly to him and shame.” When a person “answers a matter before he hears it,” it shows his folly or foolishness.
disgrace: It also causes disgrace. It results in the fool being shamed, embarrassed, or humiliated. The situation itself may also cause embarrassment to others.
Some other ways to translate 18:13b are:
is foolish and disgraceful (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
is both shameful and foolish (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
shows his foolishness and causes him shame/embarrassment
© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.