Translation commentary on Proverbs 18:14

This saying is closely connected in thought to 15.13 and 17.22. In those sayings a contrast is made between the broken spirit and a cheerful heart. Here it seems that the broken spirit has no healing.

“A man’s spirit will endure sickness”: Good News Translation has interpreted “spirit” as “[your] will to live” and translates “endure sickness” as “can sustain you when you are sick.” In some languages if this model is followed, it will be necessary to say something like “desire to go on living” or “desire to stay alive.”

“But a broken spirit who can bear?”: “A broken spirit” renders the same Hebrew expression translated by Revised Standard Version in 17.22 as “a downcast spirit” meaning “discouragement” or “despair.” However, Good News Translation makes “spirit” refer to the same “will to live” as in the first line: “but if you lose it. . ..” “Bear” renders a word meaning to carry a load. In this case the burden is the emotional one of despair. Stated as a question we may ask “Can anyone stand it?” “Who can bear up under it?” or “Who is able to carry on?” Since the question is rhetorical, it may also be put as a statement; for example, “No one can bear it.”

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 18:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 18:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “If a person has a heart/stomach (hope) to live, he will live,
    and/but when his heart breaks (loses hope), (he) will scatter/come apart.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “When people are sick
    the desire to live gives them support.
    If there is no such desire,
    a person’s hope for survival also ceases.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The determination of a man to live can-make- him -strong/sustain if he is sick, but if this is lost no one can-help him anymore.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “A person’s strength of mind is what is able-to-help him in his sickness, but if he has no strength of mind, his hope will also be-removed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “A desire to continue to live can sustain someone when he is sick;
    if he loses that desire, he cannot endure it/will become very discouraged when he is sick.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 18:14

18:14

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

14a
The spirit of a man can endure his sickness,

14b but who can survive a broken spirit ?

The main contrast in this verse is between a person’s ⌊normal, healthy⌋ spirit and a crushed spirit. A healthy attitude can help a person endure physical illness. By contrast, mental depression is unbearable, because a person no longer desires to live.

The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “broken spirit” in 18:14b also occurs in Proverbs 15:13b and 17:22b. The Berean Standard Bible translates this phrase as “crushes the spirit” in 15:13b and as “broken spirit” in 17:22b. However, in those verses the contrast is with “a joyful heart.”

18:14a

The spirit of a man can endure his sickness: In this context, the phrase The spirit of a man refers to a person’s attitude. Specifically, it refers to his will-power or his desire to live. It is implied that this person has a positive, healthy attitude and that his desire to live is strong. Such a person is able to endure sickness. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

A person’s spirit can endure sickness (God’s Word)
-or-
Your will to live can sustain you when you are sick (Good News Translation)

18:14b

but who can survive a broken spirit?: The phrase a broken spirit refers to a person who is depressed or very discouraged. A person with that mental or emotional state has lost the desire to live. His broken spirit becomes a figurative burden that needs to be carried. It does not help him in a time of sickness.

This clause is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes that no one can bear a broken spirit. Some other ways to translate this rhetorical question are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

but who can bear a crushed spirit? (NET Bible)
-or-
But if a person is depressed, what hope does he have?

• As a statement. For example:

but no one can live with a broken spirit (New Century Version)
-or-
but nothing helps when we give up (Contemporary English Version)

Translate this negative emphasis in a way that is most natural in your language.

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