Translation commentary on Proverbs 19:19

“A man of great wrath will pay the penalty”: In the written Hebrew text the word rendered “great” does not make sense, and so the form translated “great” is the one that is read in its place. This line may be understood, according to Toy, as “A man of great anger pays a fine,” “. . . must bear a penalty,” or “he who pays a fine is very angry.” The expression translated by Revised Standard Version as “pay the penalty” is understood by some to mean “bear the consequences.” So Revised English Bible translates “Anyone whose temper is violent must bear the consequences.” Note also Good News Translation. Contemporary English Version expresses the line as “People with bad tempers are always in trouble.”

“For if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again”: The Revised Standard Version footnote says the Hebrew is uncertain. Translators and interpreters differ greatly in their understanding of this line. Toy gives six translations and concludes that the text is “incurably corrupt.” Nevertheless, the sense of the Revised Standard Version rendering is as likely as any. In its text Good News Translation follows Revised Standard Version. However, note that Good News Translation gives an alternate rendering in its footnote. Translators are encouraged to follow the Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation texts or the Good News Translation footnote.

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 19:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 19:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “Leave/Allow a hot tempered person to meet the consequences,
    because if you rescue (him), he will return to his things/words.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “People whose anger is evil always give trouble,
    If you forgive them once
    they will always be giving trouble.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Let a man who easily gets-angry answers to what he is-doing, for if you (sing.) will-help him, he will- only -keep-on-repeating what he is-doing.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The person who is fierce/easily-angered always has-problems. If you (sing.) help (him), it will-be-necessary that you (sing.) do it again.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Those who do not control their temper/quickly become very angry will have to endure what happens as a result;
    but if we rescue them from those troubles once, we will have to continue rescuing them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 19:19

19:19

This proverb is directed to a person who wants to help a hot-tempered man escape the consequences of his actions. The implied advice of the proverb is that the potential rescuer should not pay the penalty for the hot-tempered person. If he does, it will only add to the problem.

19a A man of great anger must pay the penalty;

19b if you rescue him, you will have to do so again.

19:19a

A man of great anger must pay the penalty: In some languages, it may be helpful to make the implied information explicit. The implied information is that the rescuer should allow the angry man to suffer the consequences for his own actions. For example:

If someone has a hot temper, let him take the consequences. (Good News Translation)

A man of great anger: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as A man of great anger is literally “great of anger.” In this context, it refers to a person who has expressed his extreme anger by doing something wrong or violent. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

A hot-tempered man (New International Version)
-or-
People with bad tempers (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
People with quick tempers (New Century Version)

If your language has an idiom that refers to people who lose their tempers, consider using it here.

must pay the penalty: This phrase refers to the legal consequences of the man’s action. It indicates that he must bear or suffer the penalty. The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as penalty probably refers specifically to a fine. The guilty person would need to pay for the damage or harm that he had done.

Most English versions use a more general word that can also refer to other punishments. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

must bear the consequences (Revised English Bible)
-or-
will incur the punishment (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

19:19b

if you rescue him, you will have to do so again: These clauses indicate that it is useless to rescue an extremely angry person. If you pay his fine or help him to avoid the punishment, it will not solve the problem.

you will have to do so again: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “again you will add/repeat.” This clause probably means that the rescuer will have to help the angry person again. It is implied that he will keep losing his temper and getting in trouble. It may also be implied that rescuing this person will only make the situation worse. The next time he loses his temper, he may end up with a more severe punishment.

Some ways to translate 19:19b are:

If you get him out of trouble once, you will have to do it again. (Good News Translation)
-or-
if you try to save him, you will only make it worse (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

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