# Proverbs 26.1

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-05-06 | updated: 2026-05-06 -->

**Book:** [Proverbs](/codex/proverbs/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> **1. As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, So honor is not seemly for a fool.**
>
> 2. As the sparrow in her wandering, as the swallow in her flying, So the curse that is causeless alighteth not. 3. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, And a rod for the back of fools. (Proverbs 26:1-3, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> **1. Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.**
>
> 2. Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest. 3. A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools! (Proverbs 26:1-3, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> **1. As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.**
>
> 2. As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come. 3. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back. (Proverbs 26:1-3, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> **1. As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, So honour [is] not comely for a fool.**
>
> 2. As a bird by wandering, as a swallow by flying, So reviling without cause doth not come. 3. A whip is for a horse, a bridle for an ass, And a rod for the back of fools. (Proverbs 26:1-3, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** Solomon (principal); Agur; Lemuel; wise men
- **Audience:** young Israelite men in the wisdom tradition
- **Location:** Israel, Solomonic court
- **Time period:** principal composition c. 970-930 BC (Solomon); compilation c. 700 BC (Hezekiah)

## Theological reading

## Key words

- [H3519 - kavod](/codex/h3519-kavod/), *kavod* (Strong's H3519). Also appears in: [Exodus 33.18](/codex/exodus-33-18/), [Exodus 33.22-23](/codex/exodus-33-22-23/), [Psalms 8.5](/codex/psalms-8-5/).

## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.