Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.
Excellent speech (a lip of excellency) becometh not a fool; much less do lying lips (a lip of lying) a prince. "Excellent speech" - speech which is above the capacity, office, and experience of the speaker, in this case "a fool" - speech whereby one wishes to be eminent above all others, to be the only one to speak and to be heard. Such speech, however excellent in itself it might chance to be, is incongruous in a fool. It would do more harm than good. On the contrary, in "a prince" [whose very Hebrew name, naadiyb (H5081), expresses liberality, from naadab (H5068), to be liberal, to give freely] excellent speech is most becoming his office and person; therefore the opposite kind of speech, 'a lip of lying,' or vanity, in respect to his promises, and catching at men's applause by specious but insincere words, would be as utterly unbecoming in him, as "excellent speech" ('a lip of excellency') would be unbecoming in "a fool."