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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Prov C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31
Prov 10 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32
OET (OET-LV) is_silver chosen the_tongue_of the_righteous the_heart_of wicked_people is_like_a_little.
OET (OET-RV) The tongue of a godly person adds value like good silver,
⇔ ^ but the thoughts of the wicked are of little value.
This section is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs. It has a very different structure from the longer poetic lectures of chapters 1–9. It consists mostly of individual couplets (two-line poems) that are each one verse in length. With the exception of the title (10:1a), paragraph breaks will not be indicated in the Notes or Display. You may of course choose to start each proverb as a separate paragraph in your translation.
In chapters 10–15, most of these one-verse couplets express a contrast between the two lines. One of the more common contrasts is between the righteous/wise and the wicked/foolish and the different consequences of their conduct.
In chapters 16:1–22:16, more topics are discussed. There is more emphasis on the role of the king and other leaders. In these chapters, there are few proverbs with contrasting lines. Some of the parallel lines are similar in meaning. More frequently, the second line adds to what the first line says or gives an example. Most of the verses have no obvious connection with the previous or following proverbs.UBS (page 214), Fox (page 509), McKane (page 413). Many scholars, including McKane, point out that there are some topical groupings as well as poetic connections. These include the repetition of certain words or sounds. This observation does not deny the individual nature of most of the proverbs in this Section.
Two of the types of proverbs in this section are not found in chapters 1–9. One type contains logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. See 11:31 for a list of these proverbs. There are also several varieties of complex “better than” proverbs. The most common have a contrasting situation in each line (see 12:9). For other varieties, see 16:16, 19:1, and 21:9.
Many of the proverbs in this section refer to categories of people who share a common trait. For example, they refer to the righteous, the wise, the poor, and the lazy. In Hebrew, some verses use singular forms to refer to these groups of people. Other verses use plural forms. Still others use a combination of singular and plural. See the note on 10:30a–b for one example. For most of these verses, the Notes will not comment on the difference between singular and plural forms. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.
Many of the proverbs in this section express a general principle in abstract terms. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. For example, 10:2a–b says:
Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,
but righteousness delivers from death.
However, the author intended his readers to understand these proverbs as advice that they should follow. In some languages, authors or speakers give advice more directly, using pronouns such as you(sing), you(plur), we(dual), or we(incl). See the note on 10:2 for translation suggestions.
Some other headings for this section are:
Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)
The Wise Words of Solomon (NCV)
Here are many wise things that Solomon said
Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:
20a The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
20bbut the heart of the wicked has little worth.
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
The words of a person who does what is right are like pure silver,
What a righteous person says is like the most valuable silver.
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver: This metaphor compares the tongue of the righteous to choice silver. The word tongue is a figure of speech (metonymy) that represents the words that a righteous person speaks. The term choice silver refers to silver that has been refined, so it is silver of the highest value.
The parts of this comparison have more than one similarity. Choice silver:
is very valuable
has been refined or tested
is pure
Similarly, the words of a righteous person:
are valuable
are trustworthy
are free from worthless ideas
In some languages, it may not be clear or natural to use a metaphor here. Some other ways to translate this comparison are:
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
What the righteous say is like the best silver (NET)
The words of a righteous person are as valuable as pure silver
If a figure of speech does not express the meaning effectively, you may translate this line without using a figure of speech. For example:
What a good person says is worth listening to
but the heart of the wicked has little worth.
but the thoughts of a bad/wicked person are useless/worthless.
What a wicked person thinks is worth almost nothing.
but the heart of the wicked has little worth: The word heart refers primarily to the “mind” (NRSV) or “thoughts” (CEV). In contrast to “choice silver,” the mind of the wicked has little worth. In fact, it is practically worthless. Some other ways to express this meaning are:
but the thoughts of an evil person are almost worthless (CEV)
a wicked person’s ideas are worthless (GNT)
For the word heart, see the note on 4:4a. For the word wicked, see the note on 10:3b.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
כֶּ֣סֶף נִ֭בְחָר
silver choice
Here Solomon speaks of the value of what righteous people say as if it were the best quality silver. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: “Extremely valuable” or “Like choice silver”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
לְשׁ֣וֹן
tongue_of
See how you translated the same use of tongue in [6:17](../06/17.md).
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
לְשׁ֣וֹן צַדִּ֑יק
tongue_of law-abiding/just
See how you translated the righteous one in [10:16](../10/16.md).
Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast
לֵ֖ב רְשָׁעִ֣ים כִּמְעָֽט
heart_of wicked [is]_like,a_little
This clause is a strong contrast with the previous clause. Use the most natural way in your language to indicate a contrast. Alternate translation: “by contrast, the heart of the wicked ones is like little”
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
לֵ֖ב
heart_of
See how you translated the same use of heart in [2:2](../02/02.md).
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
כִּמְעָֽט
[is]_like,a_little
Here, like little refers to having little value. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “has little value” or “is not valuable”
10:20 Words are an expression of the heart.
OET (OET-LV) is_silver chosen the_tongue_of the_righteous the_heart_of wicked_people is_like_a_little.
OET (OET-RV) The tongue of a godly person adds value like good silver,
⇔ ^ but the thoughts of the wicked are of little value.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.