PROV 11:10 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

11:10

This verse focuses on the contrasting things (bold print) that happen to the righteous and the wicked. Righteous people prosper, but wicked people perish. When these things occur, there are similar consequences in their community (italics). In both cases, people respond with joy.

^10aWhen the righteous thrive, the city rejoices;

^10band when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

11:10a

When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices,

When righteous people become prosperous/successful, the people in the city where they live rejoice.
When the lives of people who do what is right improve, their townmates are happy.

When the righteous thrive: This phrase describes the situation when righteous people thrive, do well, or succeed. Another way to translate this phrase is:

When people who do what is right succeed

the city rejoices: The word city is a figure of speech (metonymy). It represents the townmates of the righteous. Another way to translate this figure of speech is:

everyone in the city where they live is happy

11:10b

and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

Likewise, the people shout for joy when the wicked die.
They also shout to show their joy when the lives of wicked people end.

when the wicked perish: The word perish can mean “are ruined” (for example, materially). But here it probably means “die,”To “perish, die, be exterminated” is the central meaning given by BDB (#06). TWOT (#2) also says that the word clearly refers to “some great loss, in most cases death.” TWOT then discusses whether physical death or perhaps also eternal death is in view. The meaning of death (as opposed to material loss) is supported by Waltke, Delitzsch, Fox, and Garrett. as in several English versions. For example:

When evil people die (NCV)

there are shouts of joy: In some languages, it may be more natural to express this as a verb clause. For example:

they shout for joy (NLT)

General Comment on 11:10a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder the parallel parts. For example:

When righteous people prosper and the wicked die, all their townmates celebrate and shout with joy.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

בְּ⁠ט֣וּב צַ֭דִּיקִים

in_[the],prosperity_of righteous

Here Solomon is using the possessive form to describe the good things that happen to the righteous ones. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “In the good things that happen to righteous ones,” or “When good things happen to the righteous ones,”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

תַּעֲלֹ֣ץ קִרְיָ֑ה

rejoices city

Here, city refers to the people who live in a city. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the people of a city exult”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וּ⁠בַ⁠אֲבֹ֖ד רְשָׁעִ֣ים רִנָּֽה

and,when,perish wicked jubilation

Solomon is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a clause would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from earlier in the sentence if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “and when wicked ones perish, there is a shout of joy” or “and when wicked ones perish, a the people give a shout of joy”

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.