PROV 13:7 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

13:7

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^7aOne pretends to be rich, but has nothing;

^7banother pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

This proverb refers to people who give false impressions about their wealth or poverty. It teaches that a person’s true situation may be quite different from what it seems to be. So people should not be deceived by outward appearances or circumstances.

13:7a

One pretends to be rich, but has nothing;

Sometimes a person pretends to be rich/wealthy, but actually he has no wealth/possessions at all.
There are those who own practically nothing, yet they may pretend to have great wealth.

13:7b

another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

And sometimes a person who pretends to be poor is actually very wealthy/rich.
Likewise, there are those who are wealthy/rich, yet they may pretend to own very little.

13:7a–b

One pretends to be rich, but has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth: The phrases has nothing and has great wealth are examples of hyperbole (deliberate exaggeration for the sake of emphasis).

Verse 13:7a means that some people pretend to be rich, but actually have very little. They are actually poor. It does not mean that they literally own nothing. Verse 13:7b means that some people pretend to be poor, but actually they are rich.

In some languages, a literal translation of these hyperboles may express the wrong meaning. Another way to translate the verse without these figures of speech is:

Some who are poor pretend to be rich; others who are rich pretend to be poor. (NLT)

Notice that the NLT also changes the word order within the two clauses. You should use whatever order is more natural in your language.

Many languages have idioms for people who are rich and people who are poor. You may be able to use such idioms to add vividness or emphasis to this proverb, especially if you decide not to use hyperbole.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

יֵ֣שׁ מִ֭תְעַשֵּׁר & מִ֝תְרוֹשֵׁ֗שׁ

there_is pretends_to_be_rich & pretends_to_be_poor

The phrases one pretending to be rich and one pretending to be poor do not refer to specific people, but to types of people. If it would be helpful, you could use expressions that would be more natural in your language. Alternate translation: “There are people who pretend to be rich … people who pretend to be poor”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

וְ⁠אֵ֣ין כֹּ֑ל

and,there_[is]_not all

Solomon says nothing at all here as a generalization for emphasis. He means either that this person has nothing valuable or has very few possessions. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different way to express the emphasis. Alternate translation: “but has nothing valuable at all” or “but truly does not have much wealth”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וְ⁠ה֣וֹן רָֽב׃

and,wealth (Some words not found in UHB: there_is pretends_to_be_rich and,there_[is]_not all pretends_to_be_poor and,wealth great )

Solomon is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [but there is much wealth]

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.