10:16

This proverb contrasts the different consequences of a righteous and wicked lifestyle. The underlined parallel parts are similar in meaning.

16a
The labor of the righteous leads to life,

16b but the gain of the wicked brings punishment.

10:16a

The labor of the righteous leads to life: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translated as labor is more literally “wages.” There are two ways to interpret this word:

(1) The word “wages” is used figuratively here. It refers to the reward that righteous people receive from living in a righteous way. This reward is life. For example:

A righteous person’s reward is life. (God’s Word)
-or-
The reward which the righteous receive is life (NET Bible)

(2) The word “wages” is used literally here. It refers to literal earnings from employment. Righteous people use their earnings in a way that brings them a better and longer life. For example:

The earnings of the godly enhance their lives (New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. Of the thirteen other verses where this Hebrew noun occurs, it refers nine times to figurative wages. It refers only once to literal wages. The idea that righteous people use their wages in order to gain a better life is not found elsewhere in Proverbs. The idea that righteous conduct results in a better life is found frequently.

If it is necessary in your language to make explicit the one who gives righteous people their reward, you may specify “the LORD.” He is the ultimate source of life. For example:

⌊The LORD⌋ will reward a righteous person with life

leads to life: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “to life.” With interpretation (1), the word life may imply a long, prosperous life, or it may refer to eternal life. It is recommended that you translate in such a way that your readers can understand either meaning.

10:16b

but the gain of the wicked: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as gain is an agricultural word that often refers literally to crops or a harvest. It can also refer to literal income (money). Here, it has a similar meaning to the parallel word the Berean Standard Bible translates as “labor” in 10:16a. It should be understood figuratively to refer to the consequences or results of a wicked lifestyle.

brings punishment: This phrase has the same structure as the parallel phrase “leads to life” in 10:16a. In Hebrew, it is literally “to sin.” There are two ways to interpret this word:

(1) This word is a figure of speech (metonymy). It represents the punishment or death that sin causes. For example:

but evil people are paid with punishment (New Century Version)

(2) This word refers literally to “sin.” The whole clause indicates that a wicked lifestyle results in sin. For example:

A wicked person’s harvest is sin (God’s Word)
-or-
but sin leads only to more sin (Good News Translation)

You may follow either interpretation. Interpretation (2) is followed by more English versions, but most scholars support interpretation (1).

Some ways to translate interpretation (1) are:

• Give the meaning of the metonymy, as the New Century Version and New International Version have done.

• Use the word “sin,” and then make explicit the result of that sin. For example:

but the result of a wicked person’s life is sin, and sin leads to death/punishment

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