Note 60 — Chapter VII · Men and Manners

Sometimes the whole point of a saying lies in the use of different terms. Thus Pr. 1721 seems merely redundant in the R.V., “He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow; and the father of a fool hath no joy.” But the “fool” of the first clause is in the Hebrew Kesīl, a coarse fool, and the “fool” of the second is Nabal; i.e., to have the first as a son will involve some regrets, but the second robs his father of all joy.