covet

The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated as “covet” in English is translated as “bulge your eyes over what is someone else’s” in Isthmus Zapotec (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), in Bura-Pabir with ngguka or “have strong desire for” which differentiates from silka or “jealous,” which refers not to one’s jealous attitude to one’s neighbor (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), and in Newari´as “cause your eye to go to” (source: Newari Back Translation).

See also greed / covetousness.

righteous, righteousness

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The Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms that are translated in English mostly as “righteous” as an adjective or personified noun or “righteousness” (also as “upright(ness)” and “just(ice)”) are most commonly expressed with concept of “straightness,” though this may be expressed in a number of ways. (Click or tap here to see the details)

Following is a list of (back-) translations of various languages:

  • Bambara, Southern Bobo Madaré, Chokwe (ululi), Amganad Ifugao, Chol, Eastern Maninkakan, Toraja-Sa’dan, Pamona, Batak Toba, Bilua, Tiv: “be straight”
  • Laka: “follow the straight way” or “to straight-straight” (a reduplicated form for emphasis)
  • Sayula Popoluca: “walk straight”
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl, Kekchí, Muna: “have a straight heart”
  • Kipsigis: “do the truth”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “do according to the truth”
  • Huautla Mazatec: “have truth”
  • Yine: “fulfill what one should do”
  • Indonesian: “be true”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “do just so”
  • Anuak: “do as it should be”
  • Mossi: “have a white stomach” (see also happiness / joy)
  • Paasaal: “white heart” (source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
  • (San Mateo del Mar Huave: “completely good” (the translation does not imply sinless perfection)
  • Nuer: “way of right” (“there is a complex concept of “right” vs. ‘left’ in Nuer where ‘right’ indicates that which is masculine, strong, good, and moral, and ‘left’ denotes what is feminine, weak, and sinful (a strictly masculine viewpoint!) The ‘way of right’ is therefore righteousness, but of course women may also attain this way, for the opposition is more classificatory than descriptive.”) (This and all above from Bratcher / Nida except for Bilua: Carl Gross; Tiv: Rob Koops; Muna: René van den Berg)
  • Central Subanen: “wise-good” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “live well”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “goodness before the face of God” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl: “the result of heart-straightening” (source: Nida 1947, p. 224)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “entirely good” (when referred to God), “do good” or “not be a debtor as God sees one” (when referred to people)
  • Carib: “level”
  • Tzotzil: “straight-hearted”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “right and straight”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “walk straight” (source for this and four previous: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22)
  • Makonde: “doing what God wants” (in a context of us doing) and “be good in God’s eyes” (in the context of being made righteous by God) (note that justify / justification is translated as “to be made good in the eyes of God.” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Aari: The Pauline word for “righteous” is generally rendered by “makes one without sin” in the Aari, sometimes “before God” is added for clarity. (Source: Loren Bliese)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “having sin taken away” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 144)
  • Nyamwezi: wa lole: “just” or “someone who follows the law of God” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Venda: “nothing wrong, OK” (Source: J.A. van Roy in The Bible Translator 1972, p. 418ff. )
  • Ekari: maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (the same word that is also used for “truth“; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).
  • Guhu-Samane: pobi or “right” (also: “right (side),” “(legal) right,” “straightness,” “correction,” “south,” “possession,” “pertinence,” “kingdom,” “fame,” “information,” or “speech” — “According to [Guhu-Samane] thinking there is a common core of meaning among all these glosses. Even from an English point of view the first five can be seen to be closely related, simply because of their similarity in English. However, from that point the nuances of meaning are not so apparent. They relate in some such a fashion as this: As one faces the morning sun, south lies to the right hand (as north lies to the left); then at one’s right hand are his possessions and whatever pertains to him; thus, a rich man’s many possessions and scope of power and influence is his kingdom; so, the rich and other important people encounter fame; and all of this spreads as information and forms most of the framework of the people’s speech.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in Notes on Translation 1964, p. 11ff.)
  • German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Gerechtheit, a neologism to differentiate it from the commonly-used Gerechtigkeit which can mean “righteousness” but is more often used in modern German as “fairness” (Berger / Nord especially use Gerechtheit in Letter to the Romans) or Gerechtestun, also a neologism, meaning “righteous deeds” (especially in Letter to the Ephesians)
  • “did what he should” (Eastern Highland Otomi)
  • “a clear man, good [man]” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)

See also respectable, righteous, righteous (person), devout, and She is more in the right(eous) than I.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 12:12

Translators have made many attempts to arrive at a meaningful translation of this verse. The Revised Standard Version rendering makes several changes in the Hebrew text; see the footnote. As it stands the Hebrew text of the whole verse appears to say, “The wicked desires the net of evil men, but the root of the righteous gives.” In this form there is no clear contrast between the lines and in addition line 2 seems to be incomplete.

“The strong tower of the wicked comes to ruin”: Revised English Bible modifies the Hebrew to get “The stronghold of the wicked crumbles like clay.” The word translated “net” in the literal rendering above may also be understood to mean “gain,” “booty,” or “refuge.” Taken in one of these senses line 1 may be translated: “The wicked covets the gain [or, booty] of evil people,” or “The wicked person desires the refuge of evil people,” meaning that the wicked desire the shelter [protection] given to them by evil people.

“But the root of the righteous stands firm”: This is literally “but the root of the righteous gives.” The word rendered “gives” here also carries the sense of being productive. Understood in this way line 2 may be rendered, for example, “but the root of the righteous is productive.” If the normal sense of the term “gives” applies, then God is the one who gives a root (meaning stability or firmness) to the righteous. Taken in this sense we may translate the whole verse, for example, “Wicked people covet the wealth of evil people, but God gives good people a way to earn.”

One translation that is similar to this is Bible en français courant: “Evil people covet dishonest profit, but only the persistence of good people is profitable.”

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 .

complete verse (Proverbs 12:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 12:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “A sinner covets/desires things taken by force,
    but the righteous people eat/enjoy what (they) have spent their strength/energy (to get).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Evil people envy the property
    that bad people steal.
    But the righteous
    will be like a tree with strong roots.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The wicked person always does what is bad, therefore their situation is not firm/stable, but the righteous on-the-other-hand are firm/stable like a tree with a deep root.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The cruel/malicious are-greedy-for what they are-able-to-obtain by evil strategies, but the righteous/just, he-can-be-compared to a tree that fruits whose roots are firm/sturdy.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Wicked people desire to take away what other evil people have,
    but Yahweh enables righteous/godly people to be steadfast and productive.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 12:12

12:12

Notice the parallelism:

12a
The wicked desire the plunder of evil men,

12b but the root of the righteous flourishes.

The underlined parallel parts contrast in meaning. The parts in bold print do not directly contrast. The part in bold print in 12:12a describes the bad desires of wicked men. The part in bold print in 12:12b describes the good result of being a righteous person.

12:12a

The wicked desire the plunder of evil men: There is a textual issue here:

(1) The Masoretic Text is literally: “The wicked ⌊person⌋ desires/covets a net of evil.” For example:

The godless delights in the snare of the wicked (New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) Some scholars think that the original text had: “The stronghold of the wicked ⌊person⌋ will be destroyed.” For example:

The strong tower of the wicked comes to ruin (Revised Standard Version)

(3) The LXX has: “The desires of the wicked are evil.” The Syriac is similar. It has: “The wicked desire to do evil.” For example:

All that wicked people want is to find evil things to do (Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions and scholars.

The wicked…evil men: The words wicked and evil are synonyms. In Hebrew, the word translated as wicked is singular, and the word translated as evil men is plural. This difference probably implies that a wicked person desires the same kind of things as other people who are evil/wicked like himself.

desire: Other ways to translate the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as desire are:

delights in (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
covets (New Revised Standard Version)

the plunder of evil men: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as plunder is literally “net/snare.” The whole phrase has at least two figures of speech. The word “net” represents what is caught in the net. It is also a metaphor. It compares the wealth that evil people obtain by violent or dishonest means to an animal or bird that a hunter catches in a net or snare.

In most languages, it will not be possible to make explicit all the parts of this complex metaphor. Most English versions translate this phrase without using a figure of speech. For example:

the proceeds of wickedness (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
what other evil people have stolen (New Century Version)
-or-
each other’s loot (New Living Translation (2004))

12:12b

but the root of the righteous flourishes: There is a textual issue here:

(1) The Masoretic Text has: “but the root of the righteous gives.” The object of “gives” is not expressed, but most versions understand the phrase to mean “bears fruit.” With this text, the line describes the productive lives of the righteous. It contrasts their lives with the temporary wealth that the wicked desire to gain dishonestly. For example:

but the root of the righteous bears fruit (English Standard Version)

(2) The LXX has: “but the root of the righteous endures.” With this text, the line describes the secure lives of the righteous. It contrasts their lives with the dishonestly gained wealth on which the wicked rely. For example:

but the root of the righteous stands firm (Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions. However, there is also good support for option (2). The Berean Standard Bible translation flourishes is actually ambiguous, since a flourishing root connotes a tree that is both secure (firmly rooted) and productive (bears fruit). You may be able to include both ideas in your translation, as the Berean Standard Bible has done.

The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the root of the righteous flourishes is a metaphor. This metaphor compares the productive life of righteous people to a tree with a strong root system that produces fruit. In some languages, a literal translation of this metaphor may not be clear or natural. If that is true in your language, some other ways to translate the metaphor are:

• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:

but righteous people are like a fruit-bearing tree with strong roots
-or-
good people are like trees with deep roots (Contemporary English Version)

• Express the meaning without a figure of speech. For example:

but the lives of righteous people are useful/beneficial to others

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