Proverbs 26:7

Like legs that hang limp ¹  from the lame, so ²  is a proverb ³  in the mouth of fools.

Like a lame man’s legs that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

Like the legs which are useless to the lame, So is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

In the mouth of a fool, a proverb becomes as limp as a paralyzed leg.

A proverb quoted by fools is limp as a wet noodle.

The legs of one who has no power of walking are hanging loose; so is a wise saying in the mouth of the foolish.

The legs of a disabled person hang limp; so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

Like the legs of the lame that hang limp Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

Like legs that hang limp ¹  from the lame, so ²  is a proverb ³  in the mouth of fools.

¹ tn Heb “like the legs which hang down from the lame” (so NASB). The is דַּלְיוּ (dalyu), from דָּלַל (dalal, “to hang; to be low; to languish”) although the spelling of the form indicates it would be from דָּלָה (dalah, “to draw” [water]). The word indicates the uselessness of the legs – they are there but cannot be used. Luther gave the verse a fanciful but memorable rendering: “Like dancing to a cripple, so is a proverb in the mouth of the fool.”

² tn The proverb does not begin with a כְּ (bet) preposition to indicate a simile; but the analogy within the verse makes it clear that the first line is the emblem. The conjunction vav then indicates the equation – “so.”

³ sn As C. H. Toy puts it, the fool is a “proverb-monger” (Proverbs [ICC], 474); he handles an aphorism about as well as a lame man can walk. The fool does not understand, has not implemented, and cannot explain the proverb. It is useless to him even though he repeats it.