Translation commentary on Proverbs 16:10

As we pointed out at the beginning of this chapter, verses 10-15 are royal proverbs in which a king or kings are the main subjects. These sayings are similar in some respects to the Yahweh proverbs in verses 1-9.

“Inspired decisions are on the lips of a king”: “Inspired decisions” renders a word that is often translated as “divination” in the Old Testament. For examples, see Num 23.23 and Ezek 13.6. The word normally refers to a false practice by people who claim to discover and make known God’s will. However, in the present verse the word has a positive and legitimate sense and is matched in the second line by “judgment”. The thought expressed in the first line is that a king (any king) speaks from a position of authority. Therefore Contemporary English Version says “Rulers speak with authority” and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “The king speaks on behalf of God.” New English Bible/Revised English Bible say “The king’s mouth is an oracle.” An oracle may be understood to be either a god speaking through a human voice or simply a person giving an authoritative or wise answer. The second line of this saying favors something like the rendering of Good News Translation or Biblia Dios Habla Hoy.

“His mouth does not sin in judgment”: “His mouth” refers to the king’s words, what he says, and parallels “lips” in line 1. “Sin” renders a verb meaning to act unfaithfully or treacherously; in relation to acting as judge it means that he does not go wrong or make mistakes. Therefore, Good News Translation has “his decisions are always right.” “Judgment” refers to legal questions brought before the king and which he must decide. We may translate this line, for example, “and he does not make mistakes in deciding legal cases” or “he is right when he decides a case.” Some languages say “and his mouth is straight when he cuts the words.”

Some versions take the verb here as expressing a wish or command rather than making a statement of fact; for example, New International Version has “his mouth should not betray justice” (similarly New Living Translation). This perhaps reflects more the opinion of the translators about present-day rulers than what the writer of these sayings intended; it is not recommended to other translators.

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 16:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 16:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “A ruler/king ought to be saying words that come from God,
    and he should not declare/decide words/matters of lies.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The king speaks as one who has authority.
    His words are always right.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When a king judges that-which is-being-guided by God, his judgment is always right.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “A king does not make-mistakes in what he decides/gives-as-verdict, because it is God who causes-him-to-think.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “If God directs what a king says,
    what he decides is always right/fair.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

king

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Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
  • Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))

Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:

“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

See also king (Japanese honorifics).

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 16:10

16:10–15

These verses all deal with the topic of kings, except for 16:11. They describe an ideal king, who rules as the representative of the LORD. If the title of “king” is not known in your language, some other ways to translate this word are:

• Use a title for a leader of similar status. For example:

chief

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

highest leader/ruler

16:10

Both lines of this proverb are about a king’s words. The second line gives the implied result of the first line.

10a A divine verdict is on the lips of a king ;

10b
his mouth must not betray justice.

16:10a

A divine verdict is on the lips of a king: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as divine verdict usually refers to divination, the false practice of obtaining information from the gods. Here it is used in a good sense. It indicates that the king speaks as the LORD’s representative. It means that when he makes official statements as king, he speaks with authority from the LORD. Some other ways to translate the meaning of this line are:

A king’s words are like a message from the LORD
-or-
The king speaks with divine authority (Good News Translation)

16:10b

his mouth must not betray justice: In Hebrew, this line is literally “his mouth does not act unfaithfully in judgment/justice.” This seems to contradict the behavior of actual kings, so some versions have translated this line as a statement of obligation. Here are the two interpretations:

(1) This line describes how an ideal king behaves : He does not act unfairly when he gives an official verdict. For example:

he does not err when he passes sentence (Revised English Bible)
-or-
his decisions are always right (Good News Translation)

(2) This line describes how a king ought to behave : He should not act unfairly when he gives an official verdict. For example:

he must never judge unfairly (New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. The other verses in this section are worded as a description of an ideal king. They are not worded as advice to a king. If this is not clear to your readers, you may want to add a footnote. For example:

16:10-15 These verses describe an ideal/perfect king (cf. John 5:27–30). They do not mean that actual human kings cannot make mistakes.

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