hope

Click here to view graphically

“Hope is sometimes one of the most difficult terms to translate in the entire Bible. It is not because people do not hope for things, but so often they speak of hoping as simply ‘waiting.’ In fact, even in Spanish, the word esperar means both ‘to wait’ and ‘to hope.’ However, in many instances the purely neutral term meaning ‘to wait’ may be modified in such a way that people will understand something more of its significance. For example, in Tepeuxila Cuicatec hope is called ‘wait-desire.’ Hope is thus a blend of two activities: waiting and desiring. This is substantially the type of expectancy of which hope consists.

In Yucateco the dependence of hope is described by the phrase ‘on what it hangs.’ ‘Our hope in God’ means that ‘we hang onto God.’ The object of hope is the support of one’s expectant waiting. In Ngäbere the phrase “resting the mind” is used. This “implies waiting and confidence, and what is a better definition of hope than ‘confident waiting’.” (Source for this and above: Nida 1952, p. 20, 133)

Other languages translate as follows:

  • Mairasi: “vision resting place” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Enlhet: “waitings of (our) innermost” (“innermost” or valhoc is a term that is frequently used in Enlhet to describe a large variety of emotions or states of mind — for other examples see here) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
  • Kwang: “one’s future is restored to one’s soul like a fresh, cool breeze on a hot day.” (Source: Mark Vanderkooi right here )
  • Noongar: koort-kwidiny or “heart waiting” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Anjam: “looking through the horizon” (source: Albert Hoffmann in his memoirs from 1948, quoted in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 7)
  • Ron: kintiɓwi or “put lip” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Highland Totonac “wait with expectation” (to offset it from the every-day meaning of hope or wait — source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. ).
  • Alekano: “wait not hearing two ears” (meaning to “wait without being double-minded” — source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 36ff.)
  • Marathi aasha (आशा) with a stronger emphasis on desire
  • Tamil: nampikkai (நம்பிக்கை) with a stronger emphasis on expectation (source for this and above: J.S.M. Hooper in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 2ff. )

In Mwera “hope” and “faith” are translated with the same word: ngulupai. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

C.M. Doke looks at a number of Bantu languages and their respective translations of “hope” with slightly varying connotations (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 9ff. ):

  • Xhosa and Zulu: themba “hope, expect,” also “have faith in, rely upon”
  • Tswana: tsholofelo “hope, expect, look for confidently”
  • Southern Sotho: tshepo “trust, rely on, believe in, have confidence in”
  • Kuanyama: eteelelo “waiting for”
  • Swahili: tumaini “confidence, trust, expectation, hope” (as a verb: “hope, trust, expect, be confident, be truthful, rely on”
  • Luganda: okusuubira “hope, trust, expect” also “look forward to, rely upon, anticipate, reckon”
  • Chichewa: chiyembekezo “wait for, wait, expect”
  • Koongo: vuvu “hope, expectancy, expectation, anticipation”
Syntyche D. Dahou (in Christianity Today, January 2021 or see here the same article in French ) reports on the two different terms that are being used in French (click or tap here to see the details):

“Unlike English, which uses the word hope broadly, the French language uses two words that derive from the word espérer (to hope): espoir and espérance. Both can first refer to something hoped for. In this sense, the word espoir usually refers to an uncertain object; that is, someone who hopes for something in this way does not have the certainty that it will happen (“I hope the weather will be nice tomorrow”). On the other hand, espérance describes what, rightly or wrongly, is hoped for or expected with certainty. It often refers to a philosophical or eschatological object (‘I hope in the goodness of human beings’; ‘I hope for the return of Jesus Christ’).

“When we speak of espoir or espérance, we then have in mind different types of objects hoped for. This difference matters, because both terms also commonly refer to the state of mind that characterizes the hopeful. And this state of mind will be different precisely according to the object hoped for.

“Having espoir for an uncertain yet better future in these difficult times may be a good thing, but it is not enough. Such hope can be disappointed and easily fade away when our wishes and expectations (our hopes) do not materialize.

“The opposite is true with espérance, which is deeper than our desire and wish for an end to a crisis or a future without pain and suffering. To face the trials of life, we need peace and joy in our hearts that come from expecting certain happiness. This is what espérance is: a profound and stable disposition resulting from faith in the coming of what we expect. In this sense, it is similar in meaning to the English word hopefulness.

“If we have believed in the Son of the living God, we have such a hope. It rests on the infallible promises of our God, who knows the plans he has for us, his children — plans of peace and not misfortune, to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). By using the two meanings of the word, we can say that the espérance that the fulfillment of his promises represents (the object hoped for) fills us with espérance (the state of mind).”

Translation commentary on Proverbs 23:18

“Surely there is a future”: The sense of the Hebrew expression rendered “Surely” at the beginning of this line is probably best understood as “because,” as expressed in New Jerusalem Bible “for there is. . ..” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project suggests rendering it as “for indeed.” However, some take the expression as referring back to the previous line, in the sense that “If you do that [obey the command] . . ..” So Scott says “If you possess that,” and Revised English Bible “Do this. . ..” The word translated “future”, as in 19.20, is literally “after-part” or “end”; it is used three times in this division of Proverbs to refer to “a happy close of life,” carrying the sense of long life and prosperity. See also 24.14, 20. Most translations in English use the word “future,” although some add to this to express the idea that it will be good or happy. Note Good News Translation “a bright future,” for instance, and New International Version “a future hope for you.” One example of what people say in some other languages is “a good time later on.”

“And your hope will not be cut off”: “Your hope” is “things you hope for” or “what you hope to receive.” In English the verb “cut off” is not appropriate to refer to “hope”, so a number of versions express it differently; for example, “. . . will not come to nothing” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “. . . will not be disappointed” (Scott). Since the two lines of this verse are parallel in meaning, Contemporary English Version combines them: “Then you will truly have hope for the future.”

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 23:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 23:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “and on the day after tomorrow (in the future), there will be nothing you will lose/lack of what you hope in/for.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Because of this you will have reward.
    You will not be disappointed.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “And very surely you (sing.) have a good future, and what you are-desiring will- not -be-dismayed.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “If you (sing.) do that, you (sing.) will have a good expectation in a future day (lit. addition of days) and for-certain it-will-be-accomplished.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 23:18

23:18

This verse promises the young man that if he obeys the contrasting commands in 23:17, especially the advice in 23:17b, he can confidently hope for a good future. Notice the parallel lines that are similar in meaning:

18a For surely there is a future,

18b and your hope will not be cut off.

23:18a

For surely there is a future: In Hebrew, this clause is more literally “for if there is a future.” The two Hebrew words that begin this clause have more than one function. The main ways to interpret their function are:

(1) They emphasize the certainty of the young man’s good future. This good future gives the implied motivation for obeying the commands in 23:17. So versions with “For surely” will be listed here as well. For example:

Surely there is a future (English Standard Version)
-or-
For surely there is a future (NET Bible)

(2) They indicate that a good future is the reason or motivation for obeying the commands in 23:17. For example:

For there is a future (New Jerusalem Bible)

(3) They indicate that a good future is the result as well as the implied reason for obeying the commands in 23:17. So versions with “For then” will be listed here as well as versions that indicate only result. For example:

Then you will have hope for the future (New Century Version)
-or-
for then you will have a future (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most English versions.

a future: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible and most versions translate as a future refers to the rest of the young man’s life, including its end. In this context, it implies that he can look forward to a long, happy, and prosperous life followed by an honorable death.

23:18b

and your hope will not be cut off: This clause further describes the good “future” that the young man hopes to enjoy. It indicates that this hope will not be removed or ended prematurely. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

and your hope will not come to nothing (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
your hope will not be disappointed (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
and your wishes will come true (New Century Version)

General Comment on 23:18a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder and/or combine the parallel ideas of “future” and “hope.” For example:

For it is certain that what you hope for in the future will be fulfilled.

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.