3:35
Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning.
35a
The wise will inherit honor,
35b but fools are held up to shame.
3:35a
The wise will inherit honor: In this context, the word inherit means “gain” or “obtain.” In some languages, only possessions or property can be “inherited,” so inherit honor may not be a natural expression. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
will gain an honorable reputation (Good News Translation)
-or-
will be praised (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
shall obtain honor (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
3:35b
but fools are held up to shame: The meaning of the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as are held up is uncertain. But many scholars agree that in this context the meaning of this word is similar to the meaning of “inherit” in 3:35a.
Other ways to translate this clause are:
but fools will be disgraced (New Century Version)
-or-
all that fools inherit is contempt (New Jerusalem Bible)
fools: In Hebrew, this word for fools (kǝsilim) refers to someone who does what is stupid and wrong because he is mentally lazy and self-satisfied.
General Comment on 3:35a–b
In both of these parallel clauses, the text does not say who will honor the wise or who will shame the fools. If it is necessary in your language to say who will do these things, use a general term such as “people” or “someone.” For example:
35a If people are wise, ⌊someone⌋ will honor them,
35b but if people are fools, ⌊someone⌋ will shame them.
In some languages, it may be more natural to use a phrase such as “there are” to introduce a general subject. For example:
35a If you are wise, ⌊there are people⌋ who will praise you,
35b but if you are a fool, ⌊there are those⌋ who will disgrace you.
© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.