OET interlinear PRO 13:3

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

נֹצֵ֣ר פִּ֭י⁠ו שֹׁמֵ֣ר נַפְשׁ֑⁠וֹ פֹּשֵׂ֥ק שְׂ֝פָתָ֗י⁠ו מְחִתָּה־לֽ⁠וֹ

guards mouth_of,his he/it_was_watching life_of,his opens_wide lips_of,his ruin to=him/it

One guarding his mouth, his, one opening his lips, and him here do not refer to specific people, but to types of people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Anyone who guards one’s mouth keeps one’s life; anyone who opens one’s lips is ruin for that person”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

נֹצֵ֣ר פִּ֭י⁠ו

guards mouth_of,his

The phrase guarding his mouth is an idiom that refers to being careful about what one says. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “One who speaks carefully”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

שֹׁמֵ֣ר נַפְשׁ֑⁠וֹ

he/it_was_watching life_of,his

Here Solomon speaks of someone preserving one’s life as if one’s life were an object that one keeps. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “preserves his life”

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

פֹּשֵׂ֥ק שְׂ֝פָתָ֗י⁠ו מְחִתָּה־לֽ⁠וֹ

opens_wide lips_of,his ruin to=him/it

This clause is in strong contrast to the previous clause. Use the most natural way in your language to indicate a contrast. Alternate translation: “on the contrary, one who opens his lips, ruin for him”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

פֹּשֵׂ֥ק שְׂ֝פָתָ֗י⁠ו מְחִתָּה־לֽ⁠וֹ

opens_wide lips_of,his ruin to=him/it

Solomon is leaving out a word that in many languages a clause would need in order to be complete. You could supply this word from the previous clause if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “one who opens his lips keeps ruin for himself”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

פֹּשֵׂ֥ק שְׂ֝פָתָ֗י⁠ו

opens_wide lips_of,his

The phrase opening his lips is an idiom that could refer to: (1) speaking carelessly, which would be in contrast to the meaning of guards his mouth in the previous clause. Alternate translation: “one who talks without thinking” (2) speaking too much. Alternate translation: “one who talks too much”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

מְחִתָּה־לֽ⁠וֹ

ruin to=him/it

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of ruin, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “ruins himself”