The two lines of this verse are parallel and make a contrast between the most admirable qualities of people when they are young and when they are old.

“The glory of young men is their strength”: The Hebrew word rendered “glory” has the primary sense of beauty, and it is used here in the sense of what a person can be proud of or what others praise someone for (see 16.31 and 17.6). So New Jerusalem Bible has “The pride of the young. . .” and Good News Translation “We admire. . ..” “Young men” translates a term whose meaning in the singular is a young male in the prime of manhood; and since “strength” is the quality in focus in this line, to translate as Revised Standard Version does (and also New International Version and Revised English Bible) is quite appropriate here. However, the plural term can also have the general meaning of “youth” as a time of life; both men and women in that age range could then be referred to. So translations such as “We admire the strength of youth” (Good News Translation) and “The pride of the young is their strength” (New Jerusalem Bible) are also satisfactory.

“But the beauty of old men is their gray hair”: “But” in English indicates that the statement in this line is a contrast with the previous line. The Hebrew text has its normal connector, and this is rendered as “and” by some English versions (Good News Translation, Scott) and omitted by others (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible). There is a case, however, for taking the second line of the parallel structure of the verse as expressing what is higher or greater or “more so” than the first line. Contemporary English Version understands the saying this way: “the gray hairs of wisdom are even more beautiful.” “Beauty” is the parallel term for “glory” in the first line. Its meaning is “splendid adornment,” something that people admire very much. Most English versions translate “gray hair” (rendered “hoary head” in 16.31) quite literally, without indicating for the reader the real quality that is in focus, namely, the wisdom that old people have acquired; the commentators mostly mention this as the real meaning, but few translations include it. In some cultures it goes without saying that the old are respected for their wisdom; where this is not the case, translators are advised to follow Contemporary English Version and say something like “the gray hair of wisdom,” or even “their wisdom.” “Wisdom,” after all, is the main theme of the book of Proverbs; and that also makes it more likely that the sense of this verse is that the wisdom of old age is more to be admired than the strength of youth.

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 .