Proverbs 26:2

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

As the sparrow in her wandering, as the swallow in her flying, So the curse that is causeless alighteth not.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כַּצִּפּ֣וֹר לָ֭נוּד כַּדְּר֣וֹר לָע֑וּף כֵּ֥ן קִֽלְלַ֥ת חִ֝נָּ֗ם *לא **ל֣וֹ תָבֹֽא׃

Transliteration

Like tzippor for nud, like deror for uf, so qilelat ḥinnam to-him not tavo.

Grammar Details

*tzippor*: noun, feminine, singular with preposition and definite article (כַּ) - bird
*nud*: verb, Qal infinitive construct with preposition (לָ) - to wander/flutter
*deror*: noun, masculine, singular with preposition (כַּ) - sparrow/swallow
*uf*: verb, Qal infinitive construct with preposition (לָ) - to fly
*ken*: adverb - so, thus
*qilelat*: noun, feminine, singular construct - curse of
*ḥinnam*: adverb - without cause, for no reason
*lo*: preposition with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - to him
*tavo*: verb, Qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular - it will come

Word Meanings

*tzippor*: bird/small bird
*nud*: to wander/flutter/move to and fro
*deror*: swallow/sparrow/swift bird
*uf*: to fly/soar
*qilelat*: curse/cursing
*ḥinnam*: without cause/gratuitously/for no reason
*tavo*: will come/will arrive

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

🔄 Compare with

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Num 23:8 : 8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied?
2 Sam 16:12 : 12 It may be that Jehovah will look on the wrong done unto me, and that Jehovah will requite me good for [his] cursing of me this day.
Neh 13:2 : 2 because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, to curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.
Ps 109:28 : 28 Let them curse, but bless thou: When they arise, they shall be put to shame, But thy servant shall rejoice.
Prov 27:8 : 8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, So is a man that wandereth from his place.
Deut 23:4-5 : 4 because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. 5 Nevertheless Jehovah thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but Jehovah thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because Jehovah thy God loved thee.
1 Sam 14:28-29 : 28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food this day. And the people were faint. 29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
1 Sam 17:43 : 43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Eccl 10:20
72%
20Revile not the king, no, not in thy thought; and revile not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the heavens shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.
Prov 27:8
71%
8As a bird that wandereth from her nest, So is a man that wandereth from his place.
Prov 1:17
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Prov 26:1
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1As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, So honor is not seemly for a fool.
Ps 109:17-18
2 verses
69%
17Yea, he loved cursing, and it came unto him; And he delighted not in blessing, and it was far from him.
18He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment, And it came into his inward parts like water, And like oil into his bones.
Eccl 7:21-22
2 verses
68%
21Also take not heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee;
22for oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
Prov 26:3-4
2 verses
68%
3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, And a rod for the back of fools.
4Answer not a fool according to his folly, Lest thou also be like unto him.
Prov 3:33
68%
33The curse of Jehovah is in the house of the wicked; But he blesseth the habitation of the righteous.
Job 5:3
68%
3I have seen the foolish taking root: But suddenly I cursed his habitation.
Prov 7:23
68%
23Till an arrow strike through his liver; As a bird hasteth to the snare, And knoweth not that it is for his life.
Job 5:6
68%
6For affliction cometh not forth from the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
Amos 3:5
67%
5Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is [set] for him? shall a snare spring up from the ground, and have taken nothing at all?
Job 31:30
67%
30(Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin By asking his life with a curse);
Job 24:18
67%
18Swiftly they [pass away] upon the face of the waters; Their portion is cursed in the earth: They turn not into the way of the vineyards.
Job 28:7
67%
7That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it:
Isa 16:2
67%
2For it shall be that, as wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon.
Deut 22:6
66%
6If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:
Prov 27:14
66%
14He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It shall be counted a curse to him.
Lam 3:52
66%
52They have chased me sore like a bird, they that are mine enemies without cause.
Num 23:8
66%
8How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied?
Deut 28:16
66%
16Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
Prov 30:10-11
2 verses
66%
10Slander not a servant unto his master, Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.
11There is a generation that curse their father, And bless not their mother.
Prov 26:18
66%
18As a madman who casteth firebrands, Arrows, and death,
Prov 6:5
66%
5Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand [of the hunter], And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Deut 28:19-20
2 verses
66%
19Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
20Jehovah will send upon thee cursing, discomfiture, and rebuke, in all that thou puttest thy hand unto to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the evil of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
Ps 37:22
66%
22For such as are blessed of him shall inherit the land; And they that are cursed of him shall be cut off.
Deut 29:19
66%
19and it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to destroy the moist with the dry.
Prov 17:13
66%
13Whoso rewardeth evil for good, Evil shall not depart from his house.
Prov 23:5
66%
5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For [riches] certainly make themselves wings, Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
Deut 28:26
66%
26And thy dead body shall be food unto all birds of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away.
Job 39:26
66%
26Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soareth, (And) stretcheth her wings toward the south?
Jer 5:27
66%
27As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxed rich.
Jer 17:11
66%
11As the partridge that sitteth on [eggs] which she hath not laid, so is he that getteth riches, and not by right; in the midst of his days they shall leave him, and at his end he shall be a fool.
1 Sam 24:13
65%
13As saith the proverb of the ancients, Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness; but my hand shall not be upon thee.
Job 36:18
65%
18For let not wrath stir thee up against chastisements; Neither let the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside.
Jas 3:10
65%
10out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Job 27:22
65%
22For [God] shall hurl at him, and not spare: He would fain flee out of his hand.
Prov 20:21
65%
21An inheritance [may be] gotten hastily at the beginning; But the end thereof shall not be blessed.
Prov 3:30
65%
30Strive not with a man without cause, If he have done thee no harm.
Jer 17:6
65%
6For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.
Prov 10:22
65%
22The blessing of Jehovah, it maketh rich; And he addeth no sorrow therewith.
Prov 25:23
65%
23The north wind bringeth forth rain: So doth a backbiting tongue an angry countenance.
Zech 5:3
64%
3Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off on the one side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off on the other side according to it.
Prov 11:29
64%
29He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind; And the foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
Ps 91:10
64%
10There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent.