The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone bata to describe complete quietness. (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)
Philip Noss (in The Bible Translator 1976, p. 100ff. ) explains the function of an ideophone: “The ideophone may be identified with onomatopoeia and other sound words frequently seen in French and English comic strips, but in [many] African languages it comprises a class of words with a very wide range of meaning and usage. They may function verbally, substantively, or in a modifying role similar to adverbs and adjectives. They describe anything that may be experienced: action, sound, color, quality, smell, or emotion. In oral literature they are used not only with great frequency but also with great creativity.”
The Hebrew that is translated as “morsel” or similar in English is translated in Mbaï as bɨna a “traditional bread of the poor.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The theme of this saying is that feasting where there is trouble is less desirable than having little to eat where there is peace.
“Better is a dry morsel with quiet” is similar in thought and expression to 15.16-17 and 16.8. “Morsel” renders a word meaning “piece” or “bit,” and in this context, as in Job 31.17, it refers to a piece of bread or more generally to a scrap of food. “Dry” describes the scrap of food as stale, something left over and unappetizing. “Quiet” renders a word that can also mean “ease” or “security.” Here it most likely refers to freedom from quarrels, strife, or trouble; and if there is a connection with verse 2, it may refer to arguments between brothers over family inheritance. In languages where bread is not baked or eaten, “a dry morsel” may be translated by the most common food; for example, “It is better to have only a few bites of rice,” “. . . a cold piece of cassava,” or “. . . a small bit of greens.”
“Than a house full of feasting with strife”: “A house full” refers to a celebration with many people present. “Feasting” renders a word referring to animal sacrifices that would first be presented to the Lord by the priest and then eaten by the worshipers as part of a feast. See, for example, 7.14-15 and 1 Sam 9.12-13. A “house full” of such “feasting” would require wealth if held often. Good News Translation calls it a “banquet . . . with trouble.” “With strife” means “strife among people” or “where there are people arguing.” “Strife” is rendered “contention” in 15.18. Contemporary English Version says “better than a feast eaten where everyone argues.”
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 .
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 17:1:
Kupsabiny: “It is better for a person to eat left over food in peace, than eating much food with strife/chaos.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Better to be eating plain bread [in peace] than to be eating a feast in a house full of quarreling.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Much better to eat bread only with peace inside the house than to have a feast with fighting-(each-other)/trouble.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “It is better to eat cold-leftover-rice when (lit. and) they who are-in-the-household have peace and orderliness than to eat all-delicious-things but they are quarrelling.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “It is better to eat a dry piece of bread and not have strife/quarrels than to have a big feast in a house where everyone is quarreling.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:
1a Better a dry morselin quietness
1b than a house full of feastingwith strife.
The first line describes an inadequate meal where the people who eat together are in harmony. This situation is better than a family that has lots of good food but the family members quarrel together. The reason is that harmonious relationships are more important than the quality of the food. Also, even the most delicious food is ruined by tension and quarreling.
This is another four-part “better than” proverb. This proverb has the following pattern:
It is better to have A (bad/undesirable situation) + B (very good/desirable situation)
than to have C (good/desirable situation) + D (very bad/undesirable situation)
For 17:1, the four parts are:
A: an inadequate meal (undesirable)
B: harmonious relationships (very desirable)
C: frequent, delicious meals (desirable)
D: quarreling (very undesirable)
See the note on 12:9 for more details on this kind of proverb.
17:1a
Better a dry morsel: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a dry morsel in the context of Palestine, probably refers to a piece/scrap of bread that people ate dry or by itself. In other words, there was no accompanying sauce or other foods. The word dry may also imply that the bread or other food was leftover or stale. It represented a simple meal that was inadequate and not very tasty.
Some ways to express the meaning of this phrase are:
• Use a phrase that refers specifically to bread. For example:
a mouthful of dry bread (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
a dry crust of bread (Good News Translation)
• In areas where bread is not considered to be a plain or common food, use a more general term. For example:
a little leftover food
-or-
a small and simple meal
• Use a term that refers to a simple or inadequate meal in your language. For example:
a few bites of rice
in quietness: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as quietness is a single Hebrew word. It contrasts with the parallel word “strife” in 17:1b. So it refers here to peaceful or harmonious relationships among those who are eating together. It does not refer to silence. Some ways to translate this Hebrew word are:
with peace of mind (Good News Translation)
-or-
where there is peacefulness and harmony
17:1b
than a house full of feasting: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as full of feasting is literally “full of sacrifices.” When a family offered an animal sacrifice to the LORD, they had a fellowship meal afterward to eat the meat. In this proverb, the emphasis is on the quantity and quality of the food. The fact that it was a sacrifice is not important. So the phrase “full of sacrifices” refers to a house where the family members frequently held feasts or banquets.
with strife: The strife referred to here is probably quarrels/arguments between the family members.
Some other ways to translate this line are:
than a family feast filled with strife (God’s Word)
-or-
than have a banquet in a house full of trouble (Good News Translation)
-or-
than to have a feast where there is quarreling (New Century Version)
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