Proverbs 17:26 New English Translation

²⁶It is terrible^[a] to punish^[b] a righteous person,
and to flog^[c] honorable men is wrong.^[d]

Proverbs 17:26 tn Heb “not good.” This is an example of tapeinosis—an understatement that implies the worst-case scenario: “it is terrible.”
Proverbs 17:26 tn The verb עָנַשׁ (ʿanash), here a Qal infinitive construct, properly means “to fine” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT) but is taken here to mean “to punish” in general. The infinitive functions as the subject of the clause.
Proverbs 17:26 tn The form is the Hiphil infinitive construct from נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike; to smite”). It may well refer to public beatings, so “flog” is used in the translation, since “strike” could refer to an individual’s action and “beat” could be taken to refer to competition.
Proverbs 17:26 tn Heb “[is] against uprightness.” The expression may be rendered “contrary to what is right.”sn The two lines could be synonymous parallelism, but the second part is being used to show how wrong the first act would be—punishing the righteous makes about as much sense as beating an official of the court for doing what is just.

New English Translation (NET)