Proverbs 26:10 (ESV)
Like an archer who wounds everyone
is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
Proverbs 26:10 (NASV)
Like an archer who wounds everyone,
So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by.
This proverb actually has two interpretations. The one listed above is the quoted in the NASV. In the King James Bible the verse reads as follows:
Proverbs 26:10 (KJV)
A master workman produces all things, but he who hires a fool is like one who hires those who pass by.
So, depending on which version you read, the Hebrew is clear about one thing: Make sure you are careful about who you hire to do work for you, or employ to complete a task. Just as they have an inability to live a life pleasing to God and to live a life that is safe from harm, the fool also has a hard time being a benefit to others. We tend to think that being foolish harms no one but themselves, but that simply is not true; according to this proverb. Fools not only have a failed and deadly future, they also fail when it comes to trusting them with responsibility. Fools not only have a life full of fear and failure, they also can't be trusted to get the job done. This is most noticeable in the educational field. Foolish students repeatedly fail to complete their work. Foolish workers repeatedly fail to complete their work in a favorable manner and those who hire them. In the NASV version of this proverb we see that an employer who hires a fool might as well be an angry archer shooting everyone else in their employment. I work with organizations on how to motivate and expand their staff. I can't tell you how many times I am hired to fix a fool who is destroying the entire staff. In the KJV version of the proverb the contrast is not as vivid. The "master workman" (the boss) is good at all things, but to hire a fool is like simply hiring an untrained person who passes by. Don't be like the fool you hire and be a fool for hiring one.
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