Proverbs 26:17

Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, ¹  so is the person passing by who becomes furious ²  over a quarrel not his own.

Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

Like one who takes a dog by the ears Is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.

Yanking a dog’s ears is as foolish as interfering in someone else’s argument.

You grab a mad dog by the ears when you butt into a quarrel that's none of your business.

He who gets mixed up in a fight which is not his business, is like one who takes a dog by the ears while it is going by.

Like somebody who takes a passing dog by the ears is one who meddles in the quarrel of another.

He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.

Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, ¹  so is the person passing by who becomes furious ²  over a quarrel not his own.

¹ tn Heb “grabs the ears of a dog. The word “wild” has been supplied in the translation to make clear that these were not domesticated pets. CEV, to accomplish the same point, has “a mad dog,” but there is no indication of that in context.

sn Someone who did this ran a serious risk of injury or harm. Dogs were not domestic pets in the ancient Near East; they were scavengers that ran in packs like jackals.

² tn The word מִתְעַבֵּר (mit’abber) means “to put oneself in a fury” or “become furious” (BDB 720 s.v.). The Latin version apparently assumed the verb was עָרַב (’arav), for it has the sense of “meddle” (so also NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, the MT reading could easily fit the verse, referring to anyone passing by who gets furious over a fight that is not his.