“Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying”: Where these birds are unknown, Good News Translation may provide a suitable model for translators. “Flitting” is literally “wandering,” that is, flying aimlessly about and moving quickly from one branch to another. “Swallow . . . flying” may refer to the swooping of a swallow that does not alight. New Living Translation expresses the movements of these birds as “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow.”

“A curse that is causeless does not alight”: For “curse” see 3.33. The sense of this line is that a curse to harm an innocent person is ineffective; it does not work, just as these birds do not come to rest. “A curse that is causeless” means a curse directed at someone who does not deserve it. Contemporary English Version translates “A curse you don’t deserve will take wings and fly away like a sparrow or a swallow.” In the context of a “curse”, “does not alight” has the sense of “goes nowhere” (New Revised Standard Version) or “will never hit its mark” (New Jerusalem Bible).

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 .