SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 2020 – Page 2

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:9

1:9

This verse contains two parallel metaphors. The metaphors compare the advice of a person’s father and mother to a garland and a chain/necklace.

9a For they are a garland of grace on your head

9b and a pendant around your neck.

1:9a–b

Both a garland/wreath and a necklace/pendant gave the person wearing them an attractive appearance and may have indicated honorable status. The meaning of both metaphors is that wearing a wreath or necklace gives a person honor and makes him physically attractive. In the same way, the advice of a person’s parents (if heeded) will make his character attractive and honored in the eyes of others. If the meaning of these metaphors is not clear in your language, you may need to use one of the following translation options:

• Change the metaphors to similes. For example:

For they will be like an elegant garland on your head, and like pendants around your neck. (NET Bible)

• Change the metaphors to similes. Instead of “garland,” use a figure of speech that has a similar meaning in your culture. For example:

Their teaching will be like flowers in your hair or a necklace around your neck. (New Century Version)
-or-
as…a lovely hat or a pretty necklace (Contemporary English Version)

• Use one or more figures of speech that have a similar meaning in your culture and make the point of similarity explicit. For example:

Their teaching will improve your character as a handsome turban or a necklace improves your appearance. (Good News Translation)

1:9a

For: The Hebrew text for this sentence begins with a word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For, which introduces the reason why a person should obey his parents’ advice.

they: The word they refers to the advice of a person’s father and mother. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this more explicit. For example:

Their teaching (Good News Translation)
-or-
What you learn from them (New Living Translation (2004))

a garland of grace on your head: The word garland refers to a wreath made from flowers or small leafy branches. It was worn on the head.

1:9b

pendant: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pendant refers to a “necklace” (Good News Translation).

General Comment on 1:9a–b

In some languages, it may be clearer to combine and/or reorder the ideas in these verse parts. For example:

Your parents’ teaching will improve your character like ornaments improve your appearance.

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:10

Paragraph 1:10–14

In this paragraph, the quote that starts in 1:11a and ends in 1:14b gives the words that the “sinners” use to “entice” the young man. The concluding exhortation of 1:10b is parallel to the concluding exhortations of 1:15a–b.

1:10a–11a

The “if” clauses in 1:10a and 1:11a are parallel to each other. In some languages, it may not be natural to use two parallel “if” statements in a row. If that is the case in your language, you may:

• Combine 1:10a–1:11a into one sentence. For example:

My child, do not allow yourself to be persuaded by criminals if they say, “Come join us(excl.).

• Reword one of the “if” clauses (see the last meaning line in the Display for 1:11a).

1:10a

My son: For the meaning of the phrase My son, see the note on 1:8a. This verse is the first of five instances in which the author repeats the words “my son” or “my sons” within a lesson as well as at the beginning. The reason the words are repeated here may be that this verse is the actual start of the first lesson (1:8–9 serves as a more general introduction to the lesson). So the father/teacher repeats “my son” to emphasize that he is now beginning the main part of the lesson.

In some languages, it may not be natural to repeat the words “my son” so soon after using them in 1:8. If that is true in your language, it may be better not to repeat the words here in 1:10.

if sinners entice you: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sinners indicates habitual sinners or wrongdoers, not just people who occasionally sin. In the following context they are described more specifically as a gang of criminals who murder and rob people.

entice: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as entice means to tempt or persuade to do evil.

Some other ways to translate the clause “if sinners entice you” are:

when sinners tempt you (Good News Translation)
-or-
if sinful people try to persuade you to do wrong

1:10b

do not yield to them: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as do not yield to them is only two words in Hebrew. In some languages, the same meaning may be expressed by using a positive command, such as:

turn your back on them (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
refuse to do what they say

General Comment on 1:10a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of these two lines so that the command precedes the “if” clause. For example:

My son, do not consent if wicked people try to persuade you to sin.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:11

1:11

The three lines of this verse each contain part of the sinners’ invitation to the young man, so all three lines are parallel. However, the last two lines are more closely related to each other, since they have parallel parts that are similar in meaning.

11a If they say, “Come along,

11b
let us lie in wait for blood,

11c
let us ambush the innocent without cause,

1:11a

If they say: The words If they say introduce one long quotation that contains several different statements (1:11–14). The conclusion to these statements does not occur until 1:15. In some languages, it is not natural to separate an “if” clause from its conclusion in this way. If that is true in your language, there are a number of possible solutions:

• Start 1:11 with a command that is similar to the command in 1:10b to not give in to these sinners. For example:

⌊Do not listen to them⌋ if they say, “Come, join us(excl.).

• Do not use an “if” clause to introduce the quotation. For example:

They may say, “Come and join us… (New Living Translation (2004))

Come along: This is an invitation for the young man to join a gang of highway robbers.

1:11b–c

let us lie in wait for…let us ambush: The Hebrew verbs that the Berean Standard Bible translates as let us lie in wait for and let us ambush are very similar in meaning. The first verb is often used about animals that hide and wait for a chance to kill their prey. The second verb means “to hide.” In this context, the purpose of hiding is to attack someone from ambush.

blood…the innocent: In this verse, blood is a figure of speech that represents a person who will be murdered. To “lie in wait for blood” means to hide and wait for a chance to murder someone.

“Innocent blood” is a common word pair in the Old Testament. In this verse, it is separated into two lines because of the parallelism. By putting innocent in the last line, the author builds to a climax. Not only are these sinners planning to ambush and kill someone, they are actually intending to kill a person who is totally innocent.

1:11c

without cause: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as without cause emphasizes that there is no valid reason for the attack.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

wantonly ambush the innocent (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
plan an ambush for the innocent without provocation (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
attack some innocent people for the fun of it (Good News Translation)
-or-
waylay some innocent person who has done us no harm (Revised English Bible)

In some languages, it may be redundant or awkward to have both the ideas of “innocent” and without cause in the same sentence. This may especially be true if the word “innocent” is expressed by a phrase such as “someone who has done no wrong.” If that is true in your language, you may need to leave one of these two ideas implicit. For example:

waylay someone who has done absolutely nothing wrong

General Comment on 1:11b–c

In some languages, it may be clearer or more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in 1:11b–c. If that is true in your language, be sure that you communicate the meaning of both verse parts. For example:

Let us ambush and kill some innocent people for no reason.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:12

1:12

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

12a let us swallow them alive like Sheol,

12b and whole like those descending into the Pit.

There is an ellipsis in 1:12b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing words. For example:

12b and ⌊let us swallow them⌋ whole like those descending into the Pit

1:12a–b

let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit: This verse contains two parallel similes. In the similes, the criminals compare themselves to Sheol, which some English versions translate as “the grave.” The criminals are similar to the grave, because they will kill unsuspecting, healthy people just as certainly and quickly as the grave opens its mouth to swallow its victims.

alive…and whole: The word whole refers to people who are “healthy.” Together, the words alive and whole refer to people who are in good health and do not expect to die soon. Some versions combine and/or reorder these parallel parts. For example:

They may be alive and well… (Good News Translation)

In some languages, it may be redundant to say that a healthy person is alive. In that case, it may be better to leave alive implicit or to use another term that refers to good health. For example:

even if they are strong and healthy

like Sheol…the Pit: In translating these similes, be careful not to imply that people are buried in their graves while they are still alive. In some languages, a literal translation of these similes may be difficult to understand. Some other ways to express the meaning are:

• Make explicit the way in which the sinners are like the grave and the pit. For example:

Let’s kill them so fast that it will seem like the place of the dead had swallowed them alive.

• Translate the meaning without the figures of speech. For example:

They may be alive and well when we find them, but they’ll be dead when we’re through with them! (Good News Translation)

Notice that both of these options combine the parallel words Sheol and Pit into one expression. Express the meaning in a way that is clear and natural in your language.

1:12a

let us swallow them alive like Sheol: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Sheol refers to death or the grave or the place of the dead. Sheol is described here as a hungry monster that swallows people alive. In other words, they are alive at the time when he swallows them.

1:12b

like those descending into the Pit: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Pit normally means a hole that is dug in the ground or rock to hold water. But here it is a figurative synonym for the place of the dead.

descending: According to Jewish thinking, the place where the dead lived was deep under the surface of the earth. (Other verses with this same idea are 2:18a–b and 9:18b.) In some languages, it may not be natural to use a specific verb such as “descend.” If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a more general word. For example:

go into the pit (God’s Word)
-or-
go to the place of the dead

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:13

1:13

Notice that the parallel lines are similar in meaning:

13a
We will find all manner of precious goods;

13b
we will fill our houses with plunder.

1:13a

We will find all manner of precious goods: It is implied that the criminals will find all manner of precious goods (both money and possessions) from those they have murdered. That will cause them to become rich. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

We’ll take their valuables (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
We’ll find all kinds of riches (Good News Translation)

1:13b

we will fill our houses: The phrase fill our houses does not mean to fill the houses until they are literally “full.” It means that the criminals will put many things in their houses.

with plunder: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as plunder refers to valuable things that are taken by force. For example:

with stolen goods (New Century Version)

General Comment on 1:13a–b

In this kind of parallelism, the second line often has a stronger or more specific meaning than the first line. For example, “fill our houses” has a stronger meaning than “find,” and “plunder” is more specific than “all manner of precious goods.” In some languages, it may be possible to use parallel lines like this.

In other languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in 1:13a–b. For example:

We will rob them and fill our houses with the valuable things we have taken.
-or-
We will take their valuable possessions and fill our houses with what we have stolen.

Express the meaning clearly and naturally in your language.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:14

1:14

In this verse, the first line gives an invitation. The second line gives the result of the invitation.

14a Throw in your lot with us;

14b let us all share one purse”—

1:14a

Throw in your lot with us: There are two ways to interpret this clause here:

(1) The clause is figurative. This is an invitation for the young man to join the gang and share their fate. For example:

Come join us. (New Century Version)

(2) The clause is literal. The proceeds of the robberies were distributed from a common purse by casting lots. This is an invitation for the young man to cast his lot along with the other members of the gang.

English versions such as the Berean Standard Bible and New International Version are ambiguous. They have used wording that refers to the literal practice of casting lots. But the clause “throw in your lot with us” is generally used figuratively in English. If you can translate this clause ambiguously in your language, you may do so. Otherwise, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This invitation better fits the following context in which the father urges his son not to go along with the gang.

1:14b

let us all share one purse: This line ends the quotation of what the “sinners” might say to this young man. The word purse probably represents the money and other possessions that the gang stole from their victims. They promised the young man that he would get an equal share of the wealth:

we’ll all share what we steal (Good News Translation)
-or-
We’ll split the loot equally. (God’s Word)

General Comment on 1:14a–b

The first line of this verse functions as an implied “if” clause. The last line expresses the result of the first line. For example:

If you join our gang, you’ll get your share. (Contemporary English Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:15

Paragraph 1:15–19

In this paragraph, the father repeats his advice to the son to reject the sinners’ invitation (1:15). He then gives two reasons: (a) Criminals lead evil lives (1:16). (b) They are so foolish they will end up destroying themselves (1:17–18). The paragraph ends with a summary statement (1:19).

1:15

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

15a my son, do not walk the road with them

15b
or set foot on their path.

1:15a

my son: For the meaning of my son, see the note on 1:8a. Here it indicates that the father has finished quoting the words that sinners might say. He is again advising his son. In some languages, it may be necessary to make explicit that the father is no longer reporting the words of the criminals. For example:

⌊If that is what they ask you,⌋ my son,

Your language may have a different way to make this clear.

do not walk the road with them: A more literal translation of this clause is: “Do not go/walk in the way with them.” The “way” of sinners, in the context of verses 11–14, means both the actual road leading to the intended place of ambush and also their way of life. If possible, choose an expression that can be understood either way. For example:

don’t go with people like that (Good News Translation)

This translation can mean either “don’t go with them to the place where they have planned an ambush” or “don’t associate with them.”

1:15b

or set foot upon their path: The word foot is a figure of speech that refers to the whole person. This line, like 1:15a, may be understood literally as advice not to start walking on a certain path. For example:

Stay far away from their paths (New Living Translation (2004))

It may also be understood figuratively as advice to avoid a way of life. For example:

Do not do what they do (New Century Version)

General Comment on 1:15a–b

Both of the parallel lines can be understood literally and figuratively. However, in many languages, it will not be possible to express both meanings in each line. If that is true in your language, you may be able to use one of the following translation options:

• Express the literal idea of not going with them (to the ambush) in one line and express the figurative idea of not associating with them or following their lifestyle in the other line. For example:

15a do not go along with them; (New Century Version)

15b do not do what they do. (New Century Version)

• Combine the ideas of both lines and use a verb that expresses both meanings. For example:

“My son, do not join in with people like that.”

Use an appropriate option for your language.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:16

1:16

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

16a For their feet run to evil,

16b and they are swift to shed blood.

In this set of parallel lines, “shed blood” is a specific instance of “evil.” The Contemporary English Version provides another way to make this relationship clear. It has:

They are in a big hurry to commit some crime, perhaps even murder.

1:16a–b

For: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces the first reason why the young man should not follow the lifestyle of criminals. It is because they lead a wicked life. See the summary for Paragraph 1:15–19 above.

In some languages, it may be more natural to introduce this reason without a specific conjunction. For example:

They rush to commit evil deeds. (New Living Translation (2004))

Introduce this reason in a natural way in your language.

their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood: The phrase their feet is a figure of speech (synecdoche) in which a part (their feet) represents the whole person. The phrase shed blood is also a figurative expression that refers in this context to murder.

The words run and swift indicate that these criminals are eager to commit crimes, not that they literally run or move swiftly. Another way to express this meaning is:

They are eager to do evil and are quick to kill. (New Century Version)
-or-
They can’t wait to do something bad. They’re always ready to kill. (Good News Translation)

evil…shed blood: The writer probably intended both of these terms to be understood with a double meaning. The Hebrew word raʿ, which is translated by the Berean Standard Bible as evil, can be understood as either “wickedness” (see the New Century Version or the Good News Translation above) or “harm/disaster.” For example:

they are eager to inflict harm (NET Bible)

Although the criminals intend to do something wicked and harm someone else (1:11), their actions will result in disaster for themselves (1:18). Verse 1:11 also says that they intend to shed the blood of an innocent person. By omitting the word “innocent” here in 1:16, the writer implies that the criminals will end up being killed themselves. This implied meaning is not made explicit until 1:18.

Translators should try to maintain this ambiguity if possible by not specifying the object of the criminals’ actions. If your language requires that an object be made explicit, it is recommended that you use an expression that could refer to either the criminals or their victims. For example:

They are eager to harm someone. They cannot wait for someone to be killed.

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 2020

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:9

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:10

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:11

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:12

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:13

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:14

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:15

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:16

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

American Bible Society