Passage

Proverbs 15.3

Book: Proverbs · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. A soft answer turneth away wrath; But a grievous word stirreth up anger. 2. The tongue of the wise uttereth knowledge aright; But the mouth of fools poureth out folly."

"3. The eyes of Jehovah are in every place, Keeping watch upon the evil and the good."

"4. A gentle tongue is a tree of life; But perverseness therein is a breaking of the spirit. 5. A fool despiseth his father's correction; But he that regardeth reproof getteth prudence." (Proverbs 15:1-5, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of fools gush out folly."

"3. Yahweh’s eyes are everywhere, keeping watch on the evil and the good."

"4. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but deceit in it crushes the spirit. 5. A fool despises his father’s correction, but he who heeds reproof shows prudence." (Proverbs 15:1-5, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. 2. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. ^{poureth: Heb. belcheth, or, bubbleth}"

"3. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."

"4. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. ^{A wholesome: Heb. The healing of the tongue} 5. A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent." (Proverbs 15:1-5, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. A soft answer turneth back fury, And a grievous word raiseth up anger. 2. The tongue of the wise maketh knowledge good, And the mouth of fools uttereth folly."

"3. In every place are the eyes of Jehovah, Watching the evil and the good."

"4. A healed tongue [is] a tree of life, And perverseness in it, a breach in the spirit. 5. A fool despiseth the instruction of his father, And whoso is regarding reproof is prudent." (Proverbs 15:1-5, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

Argument from the Demand to Be Witnessed

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.