Proverbs 26:16

The sluggard is wiser in his own estimation ¹  than seven people who respond with good sense. ² 

The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.

The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes Than seven men who can give a discreet answer.

Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors.

Dreamers fantasize their self-importance; they think they are smarter than a whole college faculty.

The hater of work seems to himself wiser than seven men who are able to give an answer with good sense.

The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem than seven who can answer discreetly.

The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes Than seven men who can answer sensibly.

The sluggard is wiser in his own estimation ¹  than seven people who respond with good sense. ² 

¹ tn Heb “in his eyes.” The lazy person thinks that he has life all figured out and has chosen the wise course of action – but he is simply lazy. J. H. Greenstone says, for example, “Much anti-intellectualism may be traced to such rationalization for laziness” (Proverbs, 269).

² tn The term means “taste; judgment.” The related verb means “to taste; to perceive,” that is, “to examine by tasting,” or examine by experiencing (e.g., Ps 34:9). Here the idea is expressed with the participle in construct, “those returners [of] good sense,” those who answer tastefully, with discretion. Cf. NIV “who (+ can NRSV) answer discreetly.”