The two cases in verse 22 probably refer to the behavior of men. The two cases in this verse definitely refer to the behavior of women.

“An unloved woman when she gets a husband”: “An unloved woman” is literally “a hated one [feminine].” This was the technical term used in Deut 21.15-17 in the situation where a man had two wives and loved one more than the other. Here the situation seems to be that the woman is “unloved” because she has no husband, and then her fortunes change when she “gets a husband”. A number of translations, however, render the Hebrew term as “hateful” or “hated” meaning someone disliked by other people generally, or someone whose behavior people find objectionable. Scott renders the term “an unpopular woman.” Those who read or hear this line are left to imagine the woman’s unbearable behavior when at last she succeeds in getting a man. One translation renders the line as “the behavior of a woman who has been single for a long time because no one loves her and at last she gets married.”

“And a maid when she succeeds her mistress”: The “maid” is a servant or slave girl, and “her mistress” is the woman who is her boss. The verb “succeeds” means in English to follow another person and take their position after their death or when they can no longer hold the position. This is one possible interpretation of the Hebrew term; it is more clearly expressed by saying that the servant “inherits” the position of her mistress; so New Jerusalem Bible has “a servant girl inheriting from her mistress.” But another possible interpretation is that something happens in the household and the servant displaces her mistress as boss. This could happen, for example, by the servant winning the affections of the master of the household, perhaps “bearing her master a child when the mistress is barren” (Scott). This interpretation is clearly expressed in Scott’s translation, “a slave girl when she supplants her mistress” and in New International Version “a maidservant who displaces her mistress.” Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version both allow for either of the above interpretations by translating the verb as “takes the place of”; and this is also a good model for translators to follow.

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 .