“The lizard you can take in your hands”: As the description shows, “the lizard” is a house lizard or gecko, which lives in houses and other buildings.

“Take in your hands” may mean that you can easily “catch” (New Jerusalem Bible) this creature with the hands; or it may mean that the creature is so small that you can easily “hold” (Good News Translation) it in your hands. In either case this shows that it is a small and weak creature like the others in this list. Where small lizards are not commonly found in houses or where they are thought to be dangerous, translators may need to think whether there is some other creature known to their readers that would fit this context. In some places, for example, a spider or a mouse may be known as a common small household creature.

“Yet it is in kings’ palaces”: This shows that the creature has a skill or ability to be able to go and stay in the halls of power.

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 .