Proverbs Chapter 26 verse 17 Holy Bible
He that passeth by, `and' vexeth himself with strife belonging not to him, Is `like' one that taketh a dog by the ears.
read chapter 26 in ASV
He who gets mixed up in a fight which is not his business, is like one who takes a dog by the ears while it is going by.
read chapter 26 in BBE
He that passing by vexeth himself with strife belonging not to him, is [like] one that taketh a dog by the ears.
read chapter 26 in DARBY
He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
read chapter 26 in KJV
read chapter 26 in WBT
Like one who grabs a dog's ears Is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.
read chapter 26 in WEB
Laying hold on the ears of a dog, `Is' a passer-by making himself wrath for strife not his own.
read chapter 26 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 17-28. - A series of proverbs connected more or less with peacefulness and its opposite. Verse 17. - He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him. "Meddleth with strife" should be "vexes, excites himself, with a quarrel." Is like one that taketh a dog by the ears, and thus needlessly provokes him to bark and bite. Regarding the position of the two participles in this verse, without any connecting link, Delitzsch takes "passing by" as attributed to the dog, thus: "He seizes by the ears a dog passing by, who is excited by a strife that concerns him not." The stray dog corresponds to the quarrel with which one has nothing to do. The present accentuation does not support this view; otherwise it is suitable and probable. Septuagint, "As he who lays hold of a dog's tail, so is he who sets himself forth as champion in another's cause." Ecclus. 11:9, "Strive not in a matter that concerns thee not." Says a Greek gnome - Πολυπραγμονεῖν τὰλλότρια μὴ βοῦλου κακά Our English proverb says, "He that intermeddles with all things may go shoe the goslings." The Telugu compares such interference to a monkey holding a snake in his paw; it is hard to hold, dangerous to let go (Lane).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(17) Meddleth with strife.--Rather, that is excited with strife. If quarrelling and taking revenge on our own account are forbidden (Romans 12:18-19), how much more is the mixing up of ourselves in the disputes of other persons.Like one that taketh a dog by the ears.--Who deserves to be bitten for his pains, the usual result of interfering in quarrels.
