20:2
The first line of this proverb compares the terrifying wrath of a king to a lion’s roar. The second line explains why his wrath causes such fear.
2a The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion;
2b whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.
20:2a
The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion: This clause is a simile. The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as The terror of a king is a figure of speech (metonymy). It represents the result of a king’s wrath.
The whole phrase is a simile. It compares the terror that is caused by a king’s wrath to the terrifying roar of a lion. Some ways to translate this simile are:
• Make explicit both the king’s wrath and the terror that it causes. For example:
The king’s terrifying anger is like the roar of a lion (NET Bible)
-or-
Fear an angry king as you would a growling lion (Good News Translation)
• Make explicit only the king’s wrath. For example:
An angry king is like a roaring lion. (New Century Version)
• Make explicit only the terror that people feel for the king. For example:
People are just as afraid of a king as they are of a growling lion.
This simile is identical to 19:12a except that the Hebrew word for “terror” is used here instead of the word for “rage.”
roar: See how you translated this word in 19:12a.
20:2b
whoever provokes him forfeits his own life: This clause explains why people fear an angry king. A person who makes a king angry may lose his own life.
forfeits his own life: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “sins against himself” or “sins against his life.” In this context, it indicates that the person endangers his own life and will probably be killed.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
to rouse his anger is to risk your life (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Making him angry may cost you your life. (New Century Version)
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