In verses 19-20 the woman gives the youth assurances that her husband will not catch them.

“For my husband is not at home” is literally “because the man is not in his house.” The use of “the man” in place of “my man” may suggest that the woman is distancing herself from her husband so as to encourage the young man. Most modern translations, however, do not make a point of this, although Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “The man is not at home.”

“He has gone on a long journey”: “A long journey” is literally “on the road far off,” which may also be aimed to relieve the young man of possible fear of being caught by an angry husband. We may translate, for example, “He is off on a long trip” or “He is traveling far away.” Some translators feel that it is necessary to make clear the point of saying this; so they say, for example, “You don’t need to be afraid of my husband—he’s gone a long way away.”

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 .