Amsal 15:23

15:23 A person has joy ¹  in giving an appropriate answer, ² 

and a word at the right time ³  – how good it is!

[15:23]  ¹ tn Heb “joy to the man” or “the man has joy.”

[15:23]  ² 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]  ³ 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.