Verse 19 concludes this subdivision by summing up all that was said by way of warning and argument in verses 15-18.

“Such are the ways”: “Ways” renders the Hebrew text. New Revised Standard Version has followed the Septuagint, which has “end,” meaning “destiny” or “fate,” the final result that is reached by obtaining “gain by violence”. “Gain” is used without any qualification in the Hebrew text, but the sense is “unjust, wrongful gain,” as used in connection with extortion in Ezek 22.13.

“It takes away the life of its possessors”: “It” refers to getting gain or wealth by violent acts. “Possessors” refers to the people who do these violent deeds, the robbers. The sense of verse 19 is that everyone who robs to get wealth is destroyed. Contemporary English Version says “The wealth you get from crime robs you of your life.” :In some languages this must be expressed as a simile rather than as a metaphor: “It is like what they steal destroying them.” A common idiomatic rendering is: “Killing and robbing is the road to death!”

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 .