“The beginning of strife is like letting out water”: The meaning of this line is that once a flow of water starts from a source, it is difficult to stop it and the same is true of a quarrel. For “strife” see 15.18. “Letting out water” assumes a supply of water that at first is being released slowly. Contemporary English Version calls it “a water leak,” Good News Translation “the first break in a dam,” and Bible en français courant “opening a dike.” Contemporary English Version expresses the line well: “The start of an argument is like a water leak.”

“So quit before the quarrel breaks out”: This line draws a consequence from the first and is in the form of a warning. “Quit” means to stop or cease. “Quarrel” refers to an argument or dispute. “Breaks out” renders a word meaning to expose or lay bare, snarl or show the teeth. The image is of snarling animals on the verge of combat. Revised English Bible says “abandon a dispute before you come to blows.” Contemporary English Version has “so stop it before real trouble breaks out.” We may also say, for example, “so stop quarreling before you begin to fight.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .