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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 11 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31
OET (OET-LV) By_the_mouth a_godless_person he_ruins his/its_neighbour and_by_knowledge righteous_people they_are_delivered.
OET (OET-RV) A godless person destroys his neighbour with his mouth,
⇔ ^ but the godly will be rescued by knowledge.
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:
9a With his mouth the ungodly man destroys his neighbor,
9bbut through knowledge the righteous are rescued.
This verse contrasts the way that the godless destroy the reputations of others and the way that the righteous escape from this kind of destruction.
With his mouth the ungodly man destroys his neighbor,
The person who rejects Yahweh destroys the reputation of his fellow man by what he says.
The person who turns his back on Yahweh uses his words to ruin his fellow man.
With his mouth: The word mouth is a figure of speech (metonymy). It represents the words that the godless person speaks that ruin his neighbor’s reputation. Some other ways to translate this figure of speech are:
By their words the godless try to ruin others (REB)
You can be ruined by the talk of godless people (GNT)
Most versions do not specify the kind of words that the godless person uses. He probably uses slander or gossip. But it is also possible that he uses flattering words in order to trick his neighbor.In Proverbs, the idea of ruining another person through one’s words usually refers to malicious gossip unless the context specifies otherwise. If possible, use a term that can be understood either way.
the ungodly man: This word refers to a person who ignores God or has turned his back on God.Ross (p. 960) understands this word to refer to a hypocrite or flatterer. Delitzsch (p. 170), Whybray (p. 179), and Waltke (p. 489) say that in later Hebrew this word came to mean “hypocrite” or “deceiver.” However, they do not state whether the word has this meaning here. Cohen (p. 67), Longman (p. 254), Fox (p. 534), McKane (p. 431), Kidner (p. 91), and Toy (p. 224) follow the meaning “godless,” along with most versions. The CEV follows the later Hebrew meaning. It has: “Dishonest people…” Some other ways to translate this word are:
the one who has no god
the one who has rejected the LORD
neighbor: In Hebrew, this word can refer to anyone with whom a person interacts, including a close friend or an acquaintance. It does not refer only to a person who lives nearby. See the note on 3:28a–b.
but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.
But righteous people will be protected from destruction by their knowledge/wisdom.
But those who obey Yahweh know how to avoid being destroyed.
but through knowledge the righteous are rescued: There are two ways to interpret this statement:
Through his knowledge/wisdom, a righteous person escapes. He is not destroyed by the words of the godless. For example:
but a good person will escape by being smart (NCV) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV)
Through his knowledge/wisdom, a righteous person helps others to escape. The others are not destroyed by the words of the godless. For example:
but the wisdom of the righteous can save you (GNT) (REB, GNT)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars.
knowledge: The word knowledge refers here to the righteous person’s wisdom in knowing how to deal effectively with slander. Some other ways to translate this word are:
wise discernment (NLT96)
wisdom (GNT)
their own good sense (CEV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
בְּפֶ֗ה
by_[the],mouth
See how you translated the same use of mouth in [10:11](../10/11.md).
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj
חָ֭נֵף
godless
The phrase a godless one represents godless people in general, not one particular godless one. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a more natural expression. Alternate translation: “any godless person”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
חָ֭נֵף
godless
Here, a godless one refers to any person who rebels against God or behaves as if God did not exist. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “a person who rebels against God”
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
רֵעֵ֑הוּ
his/its=neighbour
Although the term his is masculine, Solomon is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: “that person’s neighbor”
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
וּ֝בְדַ֗עַת
and,by,knowledge
See how you translated the abstract noun knowledge in [1:4](../01/04.md).
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
וּ֝בְדַ֗עַת צַדִּיקִ֥ים יֵחָלֵֽצוּ
and,by,knowledge righteous delivered
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “but knowledge will deliver the righteous”
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj
צַדִּיקִ֥ים
righteous
Solomon is using the adjective righteous as a noun to mean a certain kind of person. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this adjective with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [righteous people]
OET (OET-LV) By_the_mouth a_godless_person he_ruins his/its_neighbour and_by_knowledge righteous_people they_are_delivered.
OET (OET-RV) A godless person destroys his neighbour with his mouth,
⇔ ^ but the godly will be rescued by knowledge.
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.