Translation commentary on Proverbs 6:31

“And if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold”: This verse presents the thief in verse 30, whose poverty led him to steal food, as being a person who owns property. According to some commentators this is strange and may have resulted from copyists incorporating marginal notes into the text. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project has no comment and translators cannot solve the apparent conflict. “Caught”, which is passive, means to be captured or taken. “Pay” is not the payment of a fine to the authorities but probably means, as in Exo 22.1-4, 7, replacement of the stolen object to the original owner. “Sevenfold” means the thief will give back seven times as much as he stole.

“He will give all the goods of his house”: “Give” means he will surrender or turn over all that he owns. See Good News Translation “. . . everything he has.”

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 6:31)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 6:31:

  • Kupsabiny: “Or/But if he is caught stealing, he will pay seven times those things he stole, even if all his things/goods he has in his house may be taken/swept.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “However, when he is caught
    he will have to pay seven times more.
    He will have to repay
    even if it costs all that he has.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But if he is caught, he will-have-to-pay seven times of what he stole, and all his properties will-be-finished-up/will-be-gone.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But if he-is-found-out (lit. reached), he will nevertheless pay seven times the value of what he stole or he will give all that he has.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 6:31

6:31

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning. The phrase “all the wealth of his house” in the second line explains or limits what is meant by “sevenfold” in the first line.

31a Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold ;

31b
he must give up all the wealth of his house.

6:31a

Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold: The clause he must pay sevenfold literally means that the thief will have to pay a fine to the owner that is seven times the value of what he stole (see the New Living Translation (2004)). However, sevenfold should probably not be interpreted literally, since Israelite laws at that time specified a lower amount. The word sevenfold is probably a figurative way of saying “a great deal” or “everything,” as the next clause explains.

If you translate sevenfold literally, you may want to add a footnote that explains the nonfigurative meaning. Here is a suggested footnote:

According to the Israelite laws about stealing in Exodus 22:1–4, and 22:7, a thief had to repay between two and five times the value of what he stole. Because of this, some scholars think that “sevenfold” means “a great deal” or “everything.”

6:31b

he must give up all the wealth of his house: The phrase all the wealth of his house refers to everything that the thief owns. It does not literally refer to only the things that were located in his house. Other ways to translate this clause are:

and it may cost him everything he owns (New Century Version)
-or-
even if he has to sell everything he owns

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