sparrow

While the Greek word strouthion is certainly the name for the sparrow, the Hebrew tsippor is actually an inclusive word that refers to sparrow-sized birds in general. These small birds, especially sparrows, were caught in nets and traps and were an important part of the diet of poor people.

There are three types of sparrow that are common in Israel, the House Sparrow Passer domesticus, the Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis, and the Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus. All three are small speckled brown birds. Additional small birds that abound around towns and settlements are members of the bunting, finch, and tit families. Sparrows in particular are usually found in fairly large numbers roosting and nesting together. All are seed eaters and live mainly on grass seeds and grain.

Sparrows were considered clean birds and were associated with the poor.

Sparrows or sparrow-like small birds are found all over the world. Finding a local word is not usually difficult. The reference to “a lonely bird on the housetop” in Psalms 102:7 takes on additional meaning if the sparrow was intended, since it is a bird that is seldom seen alone. It would then indicate the psalmist’s sense of loneliness at being separated from those with whom he belongs.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 7:23

“Till an arrow pierces its entrails”: This line links up well with the two animal similes before it. In some parts of the world this description is understood and translated as the sharpened stakes (spears or arrows) that are placed in a pit used to trap large animals.

Some interpreters, however, believe the lines of this verse are out of order. For example, New English Bible/Revised English Bible place the three lines of Revised Standard Version in the order of 2, 3, and 1: “Like a bird . . . he did not know . . . until the arrow pierced. . ..” You may find this a helpful adjustment. A similar rendering is obtained by repeating “he does not know” in both lines 1 and 3; for example, “He doesn’t know that an arrow is going to stick into him, just like a bird flying to a trap doesn’t know. . ..” Note also, however, how Good News Translation connects line 1 to the last line of verse 22 and begins line 2 as a new sentence. Line 3 in Revised Standard Version is a very fitting closure for the teacher’s narrative.

“Entrails” is literally “liver.”

“As a bird rushes into a snare”: “Rushes” means to go suddenly, in a hurry. “A snare” here is a bird trap baited with grain to attract birds. The word for “bird” is not a bird of prey but a small bird.

“He does not know that it will cost him his life”: “He” refers to the young man in the story and not the bird in the line before. If there is any doubt, it is best to replace “he” with “that young man.” “It will cost him his life” is literally “it for his soul,” but the sense as given in Revised Standard Version is correct. The teacher does not say in what way it will cost him his life, but the best understanding of the sense is contained in 2.16-19. “Cost him his life” is sometimes expressed as “he will pay with his life for what he has done” or “he will die as a result of what he has done.”

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 7:23)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 7:23:

  • Kupsabiny: “waiting for an arrow to pierce (his/its) heart. That man will be likened to a bird which has fallen into a trap/snare. He does not know that he is condemning/destroying himself.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Like a bird running ahead into a place
    where a net had been spread out,
    he went following that woman.
    He had no idea that he would lose his life.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “where he will-be-killed through/by an arrow. He is also like a bird that hurries toward a trap who does not know that death indeed is his place-of-going.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “to die by-means-of an arrow. He is like the bird who is quick to go into the snare not knowing that that will-be-the-cause-of-his-death.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 7:23

7:23a

until an arrow pierces his liver: This line describes a deer that is caught in a noose. When the hunter finds it, he shoots an arrow into its heart to kill it.

liver: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as liver represents the place in the body where the animal’s life is located. The New Revised Standard Version translates it as “entrails.” Some modern versions, such as the Good News Translation, translate it as “heart,” because an arrow that is shot into the heart normally kills an animal.

7:23b

like a bird darting into a snare: This phrase refers to a small bird that flies swiftly into a snare or trap that is baited with grain.

7:23c

not knowing it will cost him his life: This phrase refers to the young man, not to the bird. He did not realize that he would die as a result of what he was about to do. As in 2:18a, the phrase translated as cost him his life probably refers to physical death.

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