15:30
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
30a
The light of the eyes cheers the heart,
30b and good news nourishes the bones.
The underlined parallel parts have different meanings, but they are both associated with a person who brings a good report. Both also have good effects on the listener.
15:30a
The light of the eyes cheers the heart: In Hebrew, the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as The light of the eyes probably refers to a cheerful expression on someone’s face. When a person smiles cheerfully, it makes another person happy. Another way to translate this line is:
A friendly smile makes you happy (Contemporary English Version)
15:30b
and good news nourishes the bones: The parallelism implies that the person with a cheerful face is the same person who reports good news. When a messenger smiles cheerfully and tells good news, it makes his listeners happy. It also has a positive effect on their health and well-being.
nourishes the bones: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “makes fat the bones.” This is a figure of speech that refers to the beneficial effects of good news on a person’s health. It refers mainly to physical health but also to general well-being.
Some other ways to translate this line are:
good news gives health to the body (NET Bible)
-or-
good news makes you feel better (Good News Translation)
General Comment on 15:30a–b
In some languages, the parallel lines may wrongly imply that a cheerful look has different effects from good news. One way to avoid this wrong meaning is to reorder the parallel parts. See 15:30a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.
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