PROV 12:13 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

12:13

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^13aAn evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech,

^13bbut a righteous man escapes from trouble.

12:13a–b

An evil man…a righteous man: The phrases An evil man and a righteous man are both singular in Hebrew. These phrases refer to an evil or righteous person as a representative of the class of evil or righteous people. These phrases may also be expressed using the plural, for example, “evil people” and “righteous people.” They would then refer to evil or righteous people as a group. You may use whatever is more natural in your language, either singular or plural or a combination of the two.

12:13a

An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech,

An evil person will be as if caught in a trap because of the bad things that he says intending to harm others.
An evil person will suddenly find himself in severe trouble caused by the slander that he himself has spoken.

An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech: In Hebrew, this line is literally “In the transgression of lips is a snare/trap of an evil person.” This clause is a metaphor. It compares malicious words to a snare or trap.

A hunter sets a trap with the intention of catching an unsuspecting animal or bird. Similarly, an evil person says malicious things about an innocent person. He intends to get the innocent person into trouble. But eventually he gets caught in his own trap.There are at least three interpretations of the meaning of moqeš raʿ “trap of evil”: 1) trap in which an evil person is caught (BSB, NIV, NRSV, REB, NCV, GW, NLT, CEV, GNT); 2) trap which is set by an evil person; 3) trap which is evil in nature, for example, “a disastrous trap” (NJB). Various scholars give at least two options, and Waltke (p. 530) is no doubt correct in saying that this metaphor contains several puns or double meanings. These interpretations are not discussed as such in the body of the Notes, because they are not adequately represented in the versions. To his own surprise, he is the one who undergoes punishment or disaster.

In some languages, a literal translation of this metaphor may be difficult to understand. If that is true in your language, some other ways to translate the metaphor are:

Change the metaphor to a simile. Make explicit one or more of the similarities. For example:
An evil person who intends to cause harm by the bad things that he says will suffer the consequences of his own words. He will be just like an animal that is suddenly caught in a trap.
Express the meaning without a figure of speech. For example:
Evil people will be unexpectedly destroyed by their own malicious words.

rebellious speech: This phrase refers here to malicious words, such as slander. A person says such words with the intention to cause harm or trouble to someone else.

12:13b

but a righteous man escapes from trouble.

In contrast, righteous people will be able to escape from any severe hardship that they experience.
But those who do what is right come safely through the bad things that happen that cause suffering/distress.

but a righteous man escapes from trouble: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as escapes from trouble is literally “goes out from trouble.” Scholars interpret this phrase in two ways:

A righteous person sometimes experiences trouble, but he escapes from it. For example:
but the righteous come safely through trouble (REB)
but the upright finds a way out of misfortune (NJB) (BSB, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NET, NJB, NJPS, NRSV, REB, GNT)The ESV, GW, NASB, and NRSV are listed under interpretation (1) because they use the phrase “escape(s) from trouble.” To the author of these Notes, that implies that they were initially in trouble. By contrast, the NIV translation “escape trouble” is ambiguous, since one can escape the trouble one is already in, or one can escape getting into trouble in the first place.
A righteous person does not say what is evil, so he avoids being trapped by his words. For example:
but good people stay out of trouble (NCV) (CEV, NCV, NLT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. This fits the normal meaning of the Hebrew verb phrase “go out from.” It is also acceptable to translate in a way that either meaning can be understood. For example:

but a righteous man escapes trouble (NIV)

trouble: This word refers to any kind of severe physical or mental suffering or distress. It can also refer to a condition of extreme hardship. The same word occurs in 11:8a and 1:27a–c (where the BSB translates it as “distress”).

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

בְּ⁠פֶ֣שַׁע שְׂ֭פָתַיִם

[is]_in_[the],transgression_of lips

Here Solomon is using the possessive form to describe lips that are characterized by transgression. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “In the lips that speak transgression”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

שְׂ֭פָתַיִם

lips

See how you translated the same use of lips in [10:18](../10/18.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

מוֹקֵ֣שׁ רָ֑ע

ensnared evil

Here Solomon refers to the disasters that an evil one experiences because of what he says as if it were a snare that he was trapped in. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “is what destroys an evil one”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

רָ֑ע & צַדִּֽיק

evil & law-abiding/just

See how you translated a righteous one and a wicked one in [11:08](../11/08.md).

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וַ⁠יֵּצֵ֖א מִ⁠צָּרָ֣ה צַדִּֽיק

and=he/it_went_out from,trouble law-abiding/just

Here Solomon refers to avoiding distress as if it were a place that one could go out from. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “but the righteous one will avoid distress”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

מִ⁠צָּרָ֣ה

from,trouble

See how you translated the abstract noun distress in [1:27](../01/27.md).

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.