Amsal 15:22-23

15:22 Plans fail ¹  when there is no counsel,

but with abundant advisers they are established. ² 

15:23 A person has joy ³  in giving an appropriate answer, ⁴ 

and a word at the right time ⁵  – how good it is!

[15:22]  ¹ tn Heb “go wrong” (so NRSV, NLT). The verb is the Hiphil infinitive absolute from פָּרַר, parar, which means “to break; to frustrate; to go wrong” (HALOT 975 s.v. I פרר 2). The plans are made ineffectual or are frustrated when there is insufficient counsel.

[15:22]  ² sn The proverb says essentially the same thing as 11:14, but differently.

[15:23]  ³ tn Heb “joy to the man” or “the man has joy.”

[15:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the answer of his mouth” (so ASV); NASB “in an apt answer.” The term “mouth” is a metonymy of cause for what he says. But because the parallelism is loosely synonymous, the answer given here must be equal to the good word spoken in season. So it is an answer that is proper or fitting.

[15:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “in its season.” To say the right thing at the right time is useful; to say the right thing at the wrong time is counterproductive.