Translation commentary on Proverbs 8:3

This verse is similar in structure to verse 2, with the subject and main verb “she cries aloud” placed at the end in Hebrew. These are better placed first in many languages.

“Beside the gates in front of the town”: See 1.21. Wisdom stands at the busy entrance to the town where the town gate or entry and exit are located and calls out to the people there. This open area is the place where business and public affairs are transacted. “In front of the town” means at the town entrance.

“At the entrance of the portals”: This expression repeats the sense of “beside the gates”. It is not the gates or doors that are meant so much as the entrance way or space that can be closed off by the gates. We may translate verse 3, for example, “At the entrance to the town she calls out.”

Some translations combine verses 2 and 3 as a single sentence; for example, “She is like someone who stands on a hilltop, and at the roadside, and where two roads meet, and near the gate of the big town wall, calling out loudly to us.”

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 8:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 8:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “It calls from near the door by which one enters the city saying that,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “staying at the city gates
    she has been speaking –” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “at the entrance/gates of the city, and on the ways/paths. And he preaches loudly,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “It is also standing at the location of the door/gate that is the path-used by all who enter the city and it says shouting,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 8:3

8:3

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning. The lines of this verse are also parallel with 8:2. Both verses describe the locations where Wisdom stands to speak to the people.

3a
Beside the gates to the city,

3b
at the entrances she cries out:

8:3a–b

Beside the gates to the city, at the entrances: In Hebrew, the word to is literally “at the mouth of.” It refers to the entrance of the city. The word entrances refers to the openings in the city walls that the gates closed off. Together, these three expressions refer to the area near the gates of the city, where people commonly gathered to talk and conduct business. It is probably not the same location as 8:2. The different locations indicate that Wisdom regularly appeals to people wherever they are located.

If your readers would not understand city gates as a place where there were many people, you may want to add a footnote. See the suggested wording for a footnote in 1:21a–b.

8:3b

she cries out: This phrase means to proclaim in a loud voice so that everyone can hear. The same verb was used in 1:20a. See the note on 1:20a–b.

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