7:7a

The first two lines of this verse are parallel. Notice the parts that are similar in meaning:

7a
I saw among the simple,

7b
I noticed among the youths,

7c a young man lacking judgment.

The third line describes a specific young man whom the narrator noticed.

I saw…I noticed: The verb I saw refers here to unintentional action. You could make that explicit. For example:

I…happened to see (Contemporary English Version)

The parallel verb, noticed, is more specific. It means “distinguished” or “discerned.” In some languages, it may be possible to indicate this progression from general to specific. For example:

I saw many inexperienced young men, but noticed one foolish fellow in particular. (Good News Translation)

among the simple…among the youths: These phrases describe a group of young men who were naive, immature, and could easily be persuaded to do something foolish.

The word “simple” first occurs in 1:4a.

In some languages, it may be preferable to reorder these two parts, since the youths is a more general category than the simple. See the first meaning line in the Display for 7:7a–b (combined/reordered).

7:7b

a young man lacking judgment: For the words young man, see 1:4b. The phrase lacking judgment indicates here that the young man had very little common sense. He was not able to make good decisions.

The phrase lacking judgment first occurs in 6:32a. For more information, see lacks judgment in the Glossary.

General Comment on 7:7a–c

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel ideas. For example:

I noticed, in a group of immature young men, one young fellow who had no common sense.

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