Translation commentary on Proverbs 6:11

“And poverty will come upon you like a vagabond”: Here “poverty” (Hebrew “your poverty”) refers to having no means to support yourself, a lack of goods or money. “A vagabond” means a person who moves about, a wanderer. In the context of ancient times persons who wandered about on the roads were there to rob, and so the term is more exactly “robber” or “bandit.” Note that New Revised Standard Version has changed “vagabond” to “robber.” It is the condition of laziness in the previous verse that brings about “poverty”, which is compared here with the sudden appearance of a highway robber.

“And want like an armed man”: As in the first line “want” is literally “your want,” that is, your needy condition, your lack of the things needed for living. The verb “come” in the first line is to be understood in this line also. “An armed man” is literally “a man with a shield.” This expression may refer to a soldier who has left the army to become a highway robber or bandit. Because the two lines are so similar in meaning, some translations reduce them to one. See Good News Translation. We may also say, for example, “And while you sleep you will become poor as if a robber had taken all your goods and as if an armed bandit had left you with nothing.”

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 6:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 6:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “that is when the calamity/poverty comes to you like when enemies attack/raid a person.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “poverty will come like a robber,
    taking everything away
    and you will lose everything.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “and suddenly poverty will-come on you (plur.) like an armed robber.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “but its outcome, you (sing.) will suddenly become-poor like the one-robbed by a criminal.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 6:11

6:11

This verse tells what will happen as a result of the lazy attitude expressed in 6:10. Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

11a and poverty will come on you like a robber,

11b and need like a bandit.

There is an ellipsis in 6:11b. In some languages, the missing words may need to be supplied from 6:11a. For example:

11b and need ⌊will come on you⌋ like a bandit

6:11a–b

and: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and introduces what will happen as a result of the lazy person’s attitude expressed in 6:10. Other ways to introduce this result are:

But (Good News Translation)
-or-
Then (God’s Word)

poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit: These parallel lines contain both personification and simile. Poverty and scarcity are compared to a robber and a bandit who unexpectedly attack and rob someone. Another way to translate the personification is:

11a But you will be as poor as if a bandit had attacked you;

11b you will have as little as if a criminal had robbed you.

poverty…need: The word need refers in this context to a lack of the basic necessities of life. It means essentially the same thing as poverty.

like a robber…like a bandit: In Hebrew, the word robber is literally “wanderer” or “traveler.” The parallel term, bandit, is more literally “man with a shield.” It further describes the “wanderer” as someone who carried weapons. In the OT context, armed men who wandered about on the roads were usually criminals who intended to rob people. So these parallel terms refer here to a person who attacks and robs travelers on the road.

The meanings of these two similes are almost identical. Poverty comes upon a lazy person suddenly and unexpectedly, just as an armed robber attacks a traveler.

General Comment on 6:11a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. For example:

Suddenly, everything is gone, as though it had been taken by an armed robber. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
But while he sleeps, poverty will attack him like an armed robber. (Good News Translation)

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