Proverbs 20:3

It is an honor for a person ¹  to cease ²  from strife, but every fool quarrels. ³ 

It is to a man’s honour to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.

Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, But any fool will quarrel.

Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.

It's a mark of good character to avert quarrels, but fools love to pick fights.

It is an honour for a man to keep from fighting, but the foolish are ever at war.

It is honorable to refrain from strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.

It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel.

It is an honor for a person ¹  to cease ²  from strife, but every fool quarrels. ³ 

¹ tn Heb “man.”

² tn Heb “cessation” (שֶׁבֶת, shevet); NAB “to shun strife”; NRSV “refrain from strife.”

sn One cannot avoid conflict altogether; but the proverb is instructing that at the first sign of conflict the honorable thing to do is to find a way to end it.

³ tn Heb “breaks out.” The Hitpael of the verb גָּלַע (gala’, “to expose; to lay bare”) means “to break out; to disclose oneself,” and so the idea of flaring up in a quarrel is clear. But there are also cognate connections to the idea of “showing the teeth; snarling” and so quarreling viciously.