PROV 12:27 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

12:27

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^27a A lazy man does not roast his game,

^27bbut a diligent man prizes his possession.

The main contrast in this proverb is between a person who is too lazy to complete a project successfully and so must suffer the consequences and a person who gains valuable possessions as a result of his diligence.

12:27a

A lazy man does not roast his game,

A lazy person will not even cook/roast an animal that he has hunted/killed,
A lazy person will get hungry because he will not even bother to cook/roast the game after he has caught it.

A lazy man does not roast his game: The word game describes a wild animal that people hunt for food. So this line refers to a person who is too lazy to cook what he has hunted. This may be expressed as:

Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch (NLT)

This is a specific and slightly humorous example of extreme laziness. Some versions drop this specific example and instead give a general principle. For example:

If you are lazy, you will never get what you are after (GNT)

Most other versions keep the example. You are encouraged to use it if possible, because the picture of a hunter who is too lazy to cook his own food gets a reader’s attention much better than a general statement.

In some languages, readers may not understand the intended meaning of this clause. If that is true in your language, it may be necessary to make explicit the consequence of the person’s laziness.Toy (p. 258) says, “The slothful man is too lazy to provide food for himself, and must consequently suffer.” Waltke (p. 543) also makes the point that the lazy starve physically when they are surrounded by food. For example:

Anyone too lazy to cook will starve (CEV)

12:27b

but a diligent man prizes his possession.

but an industrious person will obtain valuable possessions.
But a person who works hard will become wealthy.

but a diligent man prizes his possession: The three main interpretations of this line are:In Hebrew, verse 12:27b is literally “wealth of a person precious the diligent.” This unusual word order has resulted in eight or more interpretations. See Toy (pp. 258–259) for a list of most of these interpretations. Waltke (p. 518) also gives several suggested textual options. Longman (p. 280) favors the recommended interpretation.

A diligent person will obtain precious/valuable wealth. For example:
but the diligent man will get precious wealth (ESV) (ESV, GW, NCV, NJPS, NRSV, REB, GNT)
A diligent person prizes/values his wealth. For example:
but personal possessions are precious to the diligent (NET) (BSB, NET, NIV)
Diligence is a person’s precious possession. For example:
diligence is anyone’s most precious possession (NJB) (NASB, NJB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. Some other ways to translate this line are:

but a hard worker will have great wealth (NCV)

but a hard-working person becomes wealthy (GW)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

רְמִיָּ֣ה

lazy

A negligent one here does not refer to a specific person, but refers to a type of person in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a more natural expression. Alternate translation: “Any negligent one”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לֹא־יַחֲרֹ֣ךְ & צֵיד֑⁠וֹ

not roast & game_of,his_hunted

Here, game refers to animals that someone has hunted and killed in order to eat their meat. And roast refers to cooking food over a fire. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “will not use fire to cook the meat from the animals he has hunted”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠הוֹן־אָדָ֖ם יָקָ֣ר חָרֽוּץ

and_[the],wealth humankind precious diligent

This could mean: (1) a diligent one considers his wealth to be precious. Alternate translation: “but a diligent one’s wealth is precious to him” (2) a diligent one will acquire precious wealth. Alternate translation: “but a diligent one will acquire precious wealth”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

אָדָ֖ם & חָרֽוּץ

humankind & diligent

Here, a man and a diligent one do not refer to a specific person, but refer to a type of person in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “any person … for any diligent person”

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.

OET interlinear PROV 12:27

Hebrew word order

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

12:27

12:27a

12:27b

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