“Do not toil to acquire wealth”: “Do not toil” is “don’t weary yourself,” that is, by hard continuous effort. “Do not wear yourself out” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Scott) and “Do not slave” (Revised English Bible) express this well. The final verb is “to make [yourself] rich” or “to gain riches”; this is simply expressed in modern English as “to get rich” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version). In some languages it is more natural to say “to become a rich person.”

“Be wise enough to desist”: This line is a second command that balances the first. It is literally “From your understanding [or, wisdom] cease.” Revised Standard Version and some others take this to mean “Be wise and stop [wearing yourself out]”; Good News Translation has “Be wise enough not to. . ..” Another possibility is to take the noun “your understanding” in the sense of “your thoughts” or “your purpose [to get rich]” and render the line as “stop applying your mind to this” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “No longer let your thoughts dwell on it” (Scott).

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 .