“Till an arrow pierces its entrails”: This line links up well with the two animal similes before it. In some parts of the world this description is understood and translated as the sharpened stakes (spears or arrows) that are placed in a pit used to trap large animals.
Some interpreters, however, believe the lines of this verse are out of order. For example, New English Bible/Revised English Bible place the three lines of Revised Standard Version in the order of 2, 3, and 1: “Like a bird . . . he did not know . . . until the arrow pierced. . ..” You may find this a helpful adjustment. A similar rendering is obtained by repeating “he does not know” in both lines 1 and 3; for example, “He doesn’t know that an arrow is going to stick into him, just like a bird flying to a trap doesn’t know. . ..” Note also, however, how Good News Translation connects line 1 to the last line of verse 22 and begins line 2 as a new sentence. Line 3 in Revised Standard Version is a very fitting closure for the teacher’s narrative.
“Entrails” is literally “liver.”
“As a bird rushes into a snare”: “Rushes” means to go suddenly, in a hurry. “A snare” here is a bird trap baited with grain to attract birds. The word for “bird” is not a bird of prey but a small bird.
“He does not know that it will cost him his life”: “He” refers to the young man in the story and not the bird in the line before. If there is any doubt, it is best to replace “he” with “that young man.” “It will cost him his life” is literally “it for his soul,” but the sense as given in Revised Standard Version is correct. The teacher does not say in what way it will cost him his life, but the best understanding of the sense is contained in 2.16-19. “Cost him his life” is sometimes expressed as “he will pay with his life for what he has done” or “he will die as a result of what he has done.”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .