Proverbs 30:28

a lizard ¹  you can catch with the hand, but it gets into the palaces of the king. ² 

a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

The lizard you may grasp with the hands, Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

Lizards––they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings’ palaces.

lizards--easy enough to catch, but they sneak past vigilant palace guards.

You may take the lizard in your hands, but it is in kings’ houses.

the lizard can be grasped in the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces.

a lizard ¹  you can catch with the hand, but it gets into the palaces of the king. ² 

¹ tn The KJV, agreeing with Tg. Prov 30:28, translated this term as “spider.” But almost all modern English versions and commentators, following the Greek and the Latin versions, have “lizard.”

sn The point of this saying is that a weak creature like a lizard, that is so easily caught, cannot be prevented from getting into the most significant places.

² tn Although the Hebrew noun translated “king” is singular here, it is traditionally translated as plural: “kings’ palaces” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).