Proverbs 17:26

It is terrible ¹  to punish ²  a righteous person, and to flog ³  honorable men is wrong. ⁴ 

Ge 18:25; 2Sa 3:23-25,39; 2Sa 16:7,8; 2Sa 19:7; Job 34:18,19; Pr 17:15; Pr 18:5; Mic 5:1; Joh 18:22

¹ tn Heb “not good.” This is an example of tapeinosis – an understatement that implies the worst-case scenario: “it is terrible.”

² tn The verb עָנַשׁ, here a Qal infinitive construct, properly means “to fine” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT) but is taken here to mean “to punish” in general. The infinitive functions as the subject of the clause.

³ tn The form is the Hiphil infinitive construct from נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike; to smite”). It may well refer to public beatings, so “flog” is used in the translation, since “strike” could refer to an individual’s action and “beat” could be taken to refer to competition.

⁴ tn Heb “[is] against uprightness.” The expression may be rendered “contrary to what is right.”

sn The two lines could be synonymous parallelism; but the second part is being used to show how wrong the first act would be – punishing the righteous makes about as much sense as beating an official of the court for doing what is just.