Translation commentary on Proverbs 14:23

This saying in Hebrew is striking in its play on the similarity of sound and the contrasting sense of the final word in each line: “profit” is mothar, and “want” or “poverty” is machsor. Like 12.11; 21.17; and 28.19 this saying encourages hard work and discourages idle talk.

“In all toil there is profit”: “Toil” translates a word meaning “hard labor.” In 10.10 the word (translated “trouble”) is associated with pain or suffering. New English Bible/Revised English Bible translate it “the pains of toil.” “There is” expresses the relation between work and “profit”, that is, “hard work makes [provides, earns] profit.” “Profit” here may be taken as financial gain or as something that is worth achieving. We may translate, for example, “All hard work earns an income” or “All hard work accomplishes something.”

“But mere talk tends only to want”: “Mere talk” is literally “word of the lips.” In this context “word of the lips” is idle talk or boasting that is done in place of work. In “tends only to want” Revised Standard Version supplies “tends”. It may be expressed as “leads only to poverty” or “causes a person to be poor.”

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 14:23)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 14:23:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person who struggles/works hard gets something,
    and/but the one who is only keen on words (speaking), becomes poor.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “There will be good results from hard work,
    If you make your living only by talking
    you will become a pauper.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Working hard has value, but continuous talking can- only -cause- a man -to-become-poor.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There is that which one who is industrious to work gains, but the one who keeps-sitting talking-and-talking, he will lack what he needs.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “If you work hard, you will accomplish something good/get a good income,
    but if all you do is to talk and not work, you will remain poor.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 14:23

14:23

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

23a
There is profit in all labor,

23b but mere talk leads only to poverty.

14:23a–b

There is profit…leads only to poverty: These parallel phrases contrast the results of hard work and mere talk. The word translated here as profit can also mean “abundance.” It refers to the benefit that a person gains from his work. In contrast, the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as poverty is literally “scarcity.” It refers to a lack of the basic necessities for life (see the note on 6:11a–b).

all labor…mere talk: This proverb contrasts two kinds of people:

(a) a person who is industrious and works hard

(b) a person who is lazy and does not work, but merely talks

Some other ways to translate these two lines are:

In hard work there is always something gained, but idle talk leads only to poverty. (God’s Word)
-or-
Work and you will earn a living; if you sit around talking you will be poor. (Good News Translation)

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