“Like snow in summer or rain in harvest”: “Snow” during the hot summer season and “rain” when crops are being harvested are natural events that are out of place or occur at the wrong time. In languages in which “snow” is unknown, it may be necessary to speak of “cold during the hot season”; the second expression may also be rendered “rain during the dry season.”

“So honor is not fitting for a fool”: “Honor” renders the same word as used in 25.2, where Revised Standard Version translates it “glory.” “Not fitting” means it is “not suitable” or “not appropriate.” See 17.7 and 19.10, where Revised Standard Version translates the same Hebrew verb as “not becoming” and “not fitting.” Good News Translation says “out of place.” For “fool” see 1.22. Scott reverses the order of the lines and says “To honor a fool is as unfitting as snow in the summer or rain at harvest time.” This is expressed in a Pacific translation as “It is not right for people to give a big name to a person who has no good thinking. It is just the same as ice rain falling in the time of sun, or rain falling at the time of collecting ripe food.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .