PROV 10:26 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

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

10:26

This verse uses two similes to describe the irritating effect of a lazy person on those who send him on an errand.

^26aLike vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

^26bso is the slacker to those who send him.

10:26a–b

(combined/reordered)

In the viewpoint of his employer/master, a lazy person is like vinegar that feels sour/irritating to the teeth or like smoke that causes the eyes to sting.

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the slacker to those who send him: The similarity of vinegar, smoke, and a slacker is that all three cause irritation. The vinegar irritates the mouth by making a person’s teeth feel rough or furry. The smoke irritates the eyes. In the same way, a slacker or lazy person irritates each person who sends him on an errand or assigns to him a task.

You may translate this simile in a number of different ways. Be sure to use natural expressions for the way that vinegar affects a person’s teeth and the way that smoke affects a person’s eyes.

If people in your language area do not easily understand the similarity, you may need to make it explicit. For example:
Never get a lazy person to do something for you; he will be as irritating as vinegar on your teeth or smoke in your eyes. (GNT) Notice that the GNT also rewords the proverb as a negative command and changes the order of the lines.
Change the order of the lines. For example:
A lazy person affects the one he works for like vinegar on the teeth or smoke in the eyes. (NCV)
Divide the two lines into two separate sentences. For example:
Lazy people are irritating to their employer. They are like vinegar that sets the teeth on edge or like smoke in the eyes.

10:26a

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

Vinegar irritates the teeth of a person, and smoke makes his eyes water/sting.

10:26b

so is the slacker to those who send him.

Likewise, a lazy person is irritating/annoying to the people who send him to do something.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

כַּ⁠חֹ֤מֶץ ׀ לַ⁠שִּׁנַּ֗יִם וְ⁠כֶ⁠עָשָׁ֥ן לָ⁠עֵינָ֑יִם

like,vinegar to,teeth and,like,smoke to,eyes

Solomon is saying that the lazy one is like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes because vinegar irritates teeth and smoke irritates eyes. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: “Like vinegar is irritating to teeth and smoke is irritating to eyes”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

הֶ֝⁠עָצֵ֗ל לְ⁠שֹׁלְחָֽי⁠ו

the,sluggard to,[those_of,who]_send_him

In this verse, the lazy one and him refer to lazy people in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “is any lazy person to one who sends that person”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לְ⁠שֹׁלְחָֽי⁠ו

to,[those_of,who]_send_him

Here Solomon implies that the lazy one was sent to do some errand for the person who sent him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “to one who sends him to do an errand”

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

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.