“Surely there is a future”: The sense of the Hebrew expression rendered “Surely” at the beginning of this line is probably best understood as “because,” as expressed in New Jerusalem Bible “for there is. . ..” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project suggests rendering it as “for indeed.” However, some take the expression as referring back to the previous line, in the sense that “If you do that [obey the command] . . ..” So Scott says “If you possess that,” and Revised English Bible “Do this. . ..” The word translated “future”, as in 19.20, is literally “after-part” or “end”; it is used three times in this division of Proverbs to refer to “a happy close of life,” carrying the sense of long life and prosperity. See also 24.14, 20. Most translations in English use the word “future,” although some add to this to express the idea that it will be good or happy. Note Good News Translation “a bright future,” for instance, and New International Version “a future hope for you.” One example of what people say in some other languages is “a good time later on.”

“And your hope will not be cut off”: “Your hope” is “things you hope for” or “what you hope to receive.” In English the verb “cut off” is not appropriate to refer to “hope”, so a number of versions express it differently; for example, “. . . will not come to nothing” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “. . . will not be disappointed” (Scott). Since the two lines of this verse are parallel in meaning, Contemporary English Version combines them: “Then you will truly have hope for the future.”

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 .