Proverbs 20:14

“It’s worthless! It’s worthless!” ¹  says the buyer, ²  but when he goes on his way, he boasts. ³ 

"It’s no good, it’s no good!" says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase.

"Bad, bad," says the buyer, But when he goes his way, then he boasts.

The buyer haggles over the price, saying, "It’s worthless," then brags about getting a bargain!

The shopper says, "That's junk--I'll take it off your hands," then goes off boasting of the bargain.

A poor thing, a poor thing, says he who is giving money for goods: but when he has gone on his way, then he makes clear his pride in what he has got.

"Bad, bad," says the buyer, then goes away and boasts.

" It is good for nothing," cries the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.

“It’s worthless! It’s worthless!” ¹  says the buyer, ²  but when he goes on his way, he boasts. ³ 

¹ tn Heb “[It is] bad, [it is] bad.” Since “bad” can be understood in some modern contexts as a descriptive adjective meaning “good,” the translation uses “worthless” instead – the real point of the prospective buyer’s exclamation.

² sn This proverb reflects standard procedure in the business world. When negotiating the transaction the buyer complains how bad the deal is for him, or how worthless the prospective purchase, but then later brags about what a good deal he got. The proverb will alert the inexperienced as to how things are done.

³ tn The Hitpael imperfect of הָלַל (halal) means “to praise” – to talk in glowing terms, excitedly. In this stem it means “to praise oneself; to boast.”