seven times

The Hebrew in Proverbs 24:16 that is translated as “seven times” in English is translated in Vidunda as “many times” since the number “seven” symbolically stands for “many.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also seven.

righteous, righteousness

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The Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms that are translated in English mostly as “righteous” as an adjective or personified noun or “righteousness” (also as “upright(ness)” and “just(ice)”) are most commonly expressed with concept of “straightness,” though this may be expressed in a number of ways. (Click or tap here to see the details)

Following is a list of (back-) translations of various languages:

  • Bambara, Southern Bobo Madaré, Chokwe (ululi), Amganad Ifugao, Chol, Eastern Maninkakan, Toraja-Sa’dan, Pamona, Batak Toba, Bilua, Tiv: “be straight”
  • Laka: “follow the straight way” or “to straight-straight” (a reduplicated form for emphasis)
  • Sayula Popoluca: “walk straight”
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl, Kekchí, Muna: “have a straight heart”
  • Kipsigis: “do the truth”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “do according to the truth”
  • Huautla Mazatec: “have truth”
  • Yine: “fulfill what one should do”
  • Indonesian: “be true”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “do just so”
  • Anuak: “do as it should be”
  • Mossi: “have a white stomach” (see also happiness / joy)
  • Paasaal: “white heart” (source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
  • (San Mateo del Mar Huave: “completely good” (the translation does not imply sinless perfection)
  • Nuer: “way of right” (“there is a complex concept of “right” vs. ‘left’ in Nuer where ‘right’ indicates that which is masculine, strong, good, and moral, and ‘left’ denotes what is feminine, weak, and sinful (a strictly masculine viewpoint!) The ‘way of right’ is therefore righteousness, but of course women may also attain this way, for the opposition is more classificatory than descriptive.”) (This and all above from Bratcher / Nida except for Bilua: Carl Gross; Tiv: Rob Koops; Muna: René van den Berg)
  • Central Subanen: “wise-good” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “live well”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “goodness before the face of God” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl: “the result of heart-straightening” (source: Nida 1947, p. 224)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “entirely good” (when referred to God), “do good” or “not be a debtor as God sees one” (when referred to people)
  • Carib: “level”
  • Tzotzil: “straight-hearted”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “right and straight”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “walk straight” (source for this and four previous: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22)
  • Makonde: “doing what God wants” (in a context of us doing) and “be good in God’s eyes” (in the context of being made righteous by God) (note that justify / justification is translated as “to be made good in the eyes of God.” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Aari: The Pauline word for “righteous” is generally rendered by “makes one without sin” in the Aari, sometimes “before God” is added for clarity. (Source: Loren Bliese)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “having sin taken away” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 144)
  • Nyamwezi: wa lole: “just” or “someone who follows the law of God” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Venda: “nothing wrong, OK” (Source: J.A. van Roy in The Bible Translator 1972, p. 418ff. )
  • Ekari: maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (the same word that is also used for “truth“; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).
  • Guhu-Samane: pobi or “right” (also: “right (side),” “(legal) right,” “straightness,” “correction,” “south,” “possession,” “pertinence,” “kingdom,” “fame,” “information,” or “speech” — “According to [Guhu-Samane] thinking there is a common core of meaning among all these glosses. Even from an English point of view the first five can be seen to be closely related, simply because of their similarity in English. However, from that point the nuances of meaning are not so apparent. They relate in some such a fashion as this: As one faces the morning sun, south lies to the right hand (as north lies to the left); then at one’s right hand are his possessions and whatever pertains to him; thus, a rich man’s many possessions and scope of power and influence is his kingdom; so, the rich and other important people encounter fame; and all of this spreads as information and forms most of the framework of the people’s speech.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in Notes on Translation 1964, p. 11ff.)
  • German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Gerechtheit, a neologism to differentiate it from the commonly-used Gerechtigkeit which can mean “righteousness” but is more often used in modern German as “fairness” (Berger / Nord especially use Gerechtheit in Letter to the Romans) or Gerechtestun, also a neologism, meaning “righteous deeds” (especially in Letter to the Ephesians)
  • “did what he should” (Eastern Highland Otomi)
  • “a clear man, good [man]” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)

See also respectable, righteous, righteous (person), devout, and She is more in the right(eous) than I.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 24:16

“For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again”: “A righteous man” is the same word as in the previous verse. As elsewhere in Proverbs the emphasis is on the person’s moral character, so that he or she can be described as “good,” “honest,” “honorable.” “Falls” is the word that can mean simply “falls over” or “falls down [from somewhere high].” But it also has a figurative meaning of “experiences disaster or ruin,” and that is the sense here. Likewise “rises again” can mean simply “gets up again after falling down,” but here it has the figurative sense of “overcomes adversity” or “becomes prosperous again.” Many languages use “fall” and “rise” in the same figurative way as Hebrew, so in these languages they may be retained in translation. In some languages, however, other terms must be used to express this meaning; for example, “trouble catches a good person, but he wins [overcomes] it” or “a good person finds trouble, but he comes good again.” Most translations render “seven times” literally, but the figure “seven” probably has its Hebrew symbolic meaning in this context, namely, “completeness.” This means that “seven times” should be rendered as “every time” or “very many times”; so Good News Translation has “No matter how often. . ., they always. . .,” and others say “Even if a righteous person falls down many times, he will always. . ..”

“But the wicked are overthrown by calamity”: This line is parallel to the previous line, but in contrast with it. What happens to “the wicked” is the opposite of what happens to “a righteous man”. “Are overthrown” is literally “they stumble,” which matches the term “falls” in the previous line. The sense here is that when “calamity”, that is, “trouble,” “adversity,” or “misfortune,” comes, they are ruined by it. When they fall, they do not get up, but stay down. Good News Translation translates this line “but disaster destroys the wicked,” and Contemporary English Version “But when trouble strikes the wicked, that’s the end of them.”

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 24:16)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 24:16:

  • Kupsabiny: “Even if a righteous person has fallen seven times, he gets up again, but when calamity comes, evil people go down/disappear.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Even if good people fall down seven times
    they will rise up again.
    But if disaster comes to wicked people even once,
    they fall down once for all.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “For even if a righteous man will-be-destroyed seven-times, he still can-rise-up. But if a wicked will-be-destroyed, he no-longer can-rise-up.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because even though the righteous-person stumbles seven times, he still gets-up. But if it’s the sinner who stumbles, he is not able-to-get-up.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 24:16

24:16

The reason for obeying this advice is that a righteous person always recovers from a disaster. When wicked people experience a disaster, they do not recover. Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

16a For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up;

16b but the wicked stumble in bad times.

The verbs “fall” and “stumble” are similar in meaning. The contrast is that the righteous person “gets up.” The lack of a similar verb in 24:16b implies that wicked people do not rise again.

24:16a–b

a righteous man…the wicked: In Hebrew, the first phrase is singular. The second phrase is plural. But each phrase refers to a group of people who share a common trait, either righteousness or wickedness. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.

24:16a

may fall…he still gets up: In some contexts, these words have literal meanings. The word fall can mean “fall over” or “fall down,” as a person who trips and falls. The phrase gets up can mean “rise” or “stand up.”

However, in this context, both have figurative meanings. The word fall means “experience disaster or severe trouble.” The phrase gets up means “recovers from the disaster” or “regains his prosperity.”

In some languages, these words have the same figurative meaning as in Hebrew. If that is true in your language, you may be able to translate them literally. For example:

Though a righteous person trips and falls seven times, he stands up again.
-or-
Seven times the righteous man falls and gets up (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

In other languages, it will be clearer to translate the figurative meaning. Use natural expressions in your language. For example:

Even though trouble catches a righteous person again and again, he will defeat it every time.

seven times: In this context, the number seven has a figurative meaning. It means “many times” or “repeatedly.” If you translate this number literally, it is recommended that you add a footnote to explain the figurative meaning. For example:

In this verse, “seven times” means “many times.”

If you translate the meaning figuratively, it is recommended that you add a footnote that gives the literal number. For example:

In Hebrew, what is written here is “seven times.”

24:16b

but the wicked stumble in bad times: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stumble is passive in Hebrew. It means “are tripped” or “are caused to stumble.” This verb is different from the verb “fall” in 24:16a, but it has a similar meaning. Some other ways to translate this passive clause are:

• Use a different passive verb. For example:

the wicked are tripped by one misfortune (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
the wicked are overwhelmed by trouble (New Century Version)

• Use an active verb as the Berean Standard Bible has done. For example:

disaster destroys the wicked (Good News Translation)
-or-
in a disaster wicked people fall (God’s Word)

In contrast to the righteous, it is implied that the wicked do not recover after they experience bad times. In contrast to “seven times,” it may also be implied that even one disaster or misfortune is enough to destroy the wicked. The New Living Translation (2004) makes this implied information explicit in order to emphasize the contrast. It has:

But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked. (New Living Translation (2004))

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