Proverbs Chapter 17 verse 7 Holy Bible
Excellent speech becometh not a fool; Much less do lying lips a prince.
read chapter 17 in ASV
Fair words are not to be looked for from a foolish man, much less are false lips in a ruler.
read chapter 17 in BBE
Excellent speech becometh not a vile [man]; how much less do lying lips a noble!
read chapter 17 in DARBY
Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.
read chapter 17 in KJV
read chapter 17 in WBT
Arrogant speech isn't fitting for a fool, Much less do lying lips fit a prince.
read chapter 17 in WEB
Not comely for a fool is a lip of excellency, Much less for a noble a lip of falsehood.
read chapter 17 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 7. - Excellent speech becometh not a fool. שְׂפַת יָתֶר; verba composita, Vulgate, i.e. studied, complicated, expressions; χείλη πιστά, "faithful lips," Septuagint. Others translate, "arrogant," "pretentious." It is literally, a lip of excess or superabundance, and is best taken in the above sense, as arrogant or assuming. A nabal, a "vicious fool," ought not to flaunt his unwisdom and his iniquities before the eyes of men, but to keep them hidden as much as possible. As such presumptuous behaviour is incongruous in the case of a fool, much less do lying lips [become] a prince; a noble person, such a one as is called in Isaiah (Isaiah 32:8) "liberal," where the same word, nadib, is used. This is an illustration of the saying, "Noblesse oblige." Thus the Greek gnome - Ἐλευθέρου γὰρ ἀνδρὸς ἀλήθειαν λέγειν "A free man's part it is the truth to speak." To John the Good, King of France, is attributed the noble maxim which well became his chivalrous character, "Si la bonne foi etait bannie du reste du monde, il faudrait qu'on la retrouvat dans le coeur des rois" (Bonnechose, 'Hist. de France,' 1:310). "My son," says the rabbi in the Talmud, "avoid lying first of all; for a lie will tarnish the brightness of thy honour." For "prince," the Septuagint has, "a just man," which makes the maxim a mere truism.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(7) Excellent speech becometh not a fool.--Rather, perhaps, Superfluous or pretentious words become not a vile person (n?bh?l), such as is described in Isaiah 32:6. (Comp. 1Samuel 25:25.)Much less do lying lips a prince.--Or, liberal person (Isaiah 32:8): noblesse oblige.
